World Literature and Ecology: The Aesthetics of Commodity Frontiers, 1890-1950

World Literature and Ecology investigates how fiction and poetry respond to the ecological transformations caused by commodity frontiers, combining a materialist theory of world literature with insights from world-ecology perspective to generate new readings of writers such as Rhys Davies, Yseult Bridges, Lewis Jones, José Lins do Rego, Ellen Wilkinson, Jorge Amado, Gwyn Thomas, and Ralph de Boissière.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 259 pages
Publication date: 13 May 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This book, situated at the crossroads of world-literary studies and the environmental humanities, delves into the profound ways in which fiction and poetry respond to the ecological transformations brought about by commodity frontiers. By examining the sugar, cacao, coal, and oil frontiers in Trinidad, Brazil, and Britain, World Literature and Ecology offers a captivating exploration of how literary texts have captured the intricate interplay between the re-shaping of biophysical natures and the ongoing struggles surrounding class, race, and gender. Through a fusion of materialist theory of world literature and the insights of world-ecology perspective, the book presents fresh and thought-provoking interpretations of renowned writers such as Rhys Davies, Yseult Bridges, Lewis Jones, José Lins do Rego, Ellen Wilkinson, Jorge Amado, Gwyn Thomas, and Ralph de Boissière. This timely intervention adds valuable dimensions to a series of critical debates encompassing peripheral realisms, modernisms, ecocriticism, and the energy humanities, making it a must-read for scholars and enthusiasts alike.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030385835
Edition number: 1st ed. 2020