The first course in this mini series of reviews is ENG/CLS 160.
This course was (thankfully) the only truly lower 100-level course that was required of the English major, with one more of the 200-level courses to join the two British Literatures I already completed at the community college level. ENG 160 was combined with CLS 160 this semester, in other words it became a Comparative & World Literature course, with a central Environmental theme as the main focus. Much of the content was nearly evenly split between novels as the primary readings, and secondary readings in the form of non-fiction to complement the primary literature, and give some theoretical context the the overarching themed within each novel. Personally, I enjoyed and appreciated the non-fiction secondary sources more, with the exception of the Overstory, which is definitely an interesting perspective and was the novel the essentially accomplished everything that the non-fiction authors called for — encouraging writers and artists to give voice to climate change in ways that were both realistic & imaginative, spanning much longer timeframe than 99% of fiction novels, as well as telling the story from a more collective perspective.
The actual course description according to the syllabus:
“This course will explore literature’s struggle to represent the state of our environment. We will analyze the ways in which authors like Amitav Ghosh, Imbolo Mbue, and Richard Powers expand their narratives (spatially, temporally, etc.) in order to capture all that is our climate crisis. Emphasis will be placed both on the communal and on our global interconnectedness. In addition to three primary novels, we will read critical texts by Rob Nixon, Frantz Fanon, and Timothy Morton, and poems by Mary Oliver, Joy Harjo, and Sara Teasdale.”
On that note, I’ll briefly review the major texts and primary readings that we explored this semester.
Ghosh – “Great Derangement” & “Gun Island” (appreciated the perspective of the GD, but wasn’t impressed with Gun Island) – the author toed the line of a supernatural or paranormal fiction, but never actually committed to it, as nothing explicitly supernatural or paranormal happens throughout the novel. Many supposed supernatural instances were ambiguous at best. Also didn’t appreciate the constant jumping around to different destinations, I think a total of five or six cities between three countries. Perhaps Ghosh was aiming for an overall disorienting experience in the narrative? I can’t really say for sure. It is interesting to note that Gun Island is NOT listed in any of his works on her professional website, so its possible he doesn’t consider the novel a success by his own criteria? Overall, it’s not a bad fiction on its own; one that imagines the possibilities of realistic but somewhat dystopian climate change events and the its effect on both nature and humans across the globe regardless of where one lives — which is what Ghosh called for in his writings in the Great Derangement. However, I’m not sold on this his style of fiction. Personally, I won’t ever pick up this book again, or any other fiction by this author.
Nixon – Rob Nixon’s work, “Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor“, delves into the nuanced impacts of environmental degradation on marginalized communities. He introduces the concept of ‘slow violence’ to elucidate the gradual and often imperceptible harm inflicted on these communities by factors such as deforestation, climate change, and persistent pollution. Nixon argues that mainstream discourse tends to overlook or marginalize these forms of violence due to their protracted and diffuse nature. Moreover, he emphasizes how these environmental injustices disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged and marginalized groups worldwide, who typically lack the resources and agency to mitigate or adapt to such degradation.
Nixon critiques conventional environmentalism for its preoccupation with immediate and spectacular disasters, which often eclipses the slower but equally detrimental forms of harm experienced by marginalized communities. This myopic focus perpetuates a ‘hierarchy of suffering,’ wherein the voices and experiences of the marginalized are sidelined. In response, Nixon advocates for an ‘environmentalism of the poor’ that prioritizes the experiences and struggles of marginalized communities, recognizing the interconnectedness of social and environmental injustices. This approach entails empowering affected communities to advocate for their rights, challenging systemic inequalities perpetuating environmental degradation, and promoting sustainable development models that prioritize both social equity and environmental justice.
In much of this I appreciated his perspective and his critique of conventional environmentalism, which of course, has its pros — however, there are many cons, and in many ways it is markedly ineffective in truly catalyzing real change in a global scale. Something Ghosh also pointed out in the Great Derangement. The freight train that is petro-imperialism (especially in the Americas), the neo-colonialism driven tourism, corporate deregulation with profit first mentality and the militarization of commerce are all incredibly real, cringe-worthy aspects of capitalism that need to be addressed, and remedied. His call to writers and artists to reimagine and highlight these aspects, and what an eco-friendly and environmentally-integrated world could true look like, in ways that captivate and inspire where non-fiction cannot is where his message could be truly transformative; should many take up the task.
Mbue – “How Beautiful We Were” by Imbolo Mbue is set in the fictional African village of Kosawa, which is plagued by environmental devastation caused by an American oil company, Pexton. The story follows the villagers’ struggle to fight against the exploitation of their land and resources. The narrators span a collective of village children, several individual villagers, with a focus on a main protagonist (Thula), a young girl who grows up to become a key figure in the resistance movement. As the narrative unfolds, it explores themes of the spiritual & superstitious element of the village (and also how they start to question the power of the Spirit’s ability to protect, guide or safeguard them), as well as corporate greed, government corruption, exploitation, environmental destruction, death & disease, loss & grief, and the massive dichotomy between the capitalist “American” way of life against the that of the African village of the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
This book was an incredible portrayal of the concept of ‘slow violence’; it was also the most difficult read, in that it was utterly infuriating and heart-breaking to read about such events and how these people were systemically dehumanized by both the corporation exploiting their village and surrounding land, which was only exacerbated by the corrupt government of Bezam. While this story and its setting may have been fictional, events like this actually did happen to many indigenous people — here in the Americas, across Asia and Africa. The ending was, quite frankly, the most frustrating and depressing thing I’ve read in a long time.
Morton – “Hyper Objects” by Timothy Morton introduces the concept of ‘hyperobjects’, which are entities or phenomena that are massively distributed across time and space, exceeding human comprehension. Morton argues that hyperobjects, such as climate change, radiation, or capitalism, challenge traditional ways of understanding reality and require a new ecological awareness, and an altogether different level of conception and comphrension that the average person often fails to cultivate in contemporary societies. The book explores how hyperobjects intersect with various aspects of human existence and suggests that acknowledging their presence can lead to a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness with the environment and the urgent need for collective action to address global challenges.
And this one was a fundamentally fascinating read. A trend with all of the non-fiction books so far for this course. The fiction-based novels have unfortunately been a hit or a miss for me this semester. I’m hoping next semester will resonate more, especially with the ENG 367 – a course exploring ancient literature, particularly the Epic.
Powers – “The Overstory” by Richard Powers weaves together the lives of several characters whose paths converge around the central theme of trees and forests. The novel explores their deep connections with nature and the profound impact trees have on their lives.
The plot follows various storylines, including those of a Vietnam War veteran turned eco-activist, a scientist studying tree communication, a couple engaged in environmental activism, and others whose lives intersect with trees in significant ways. As these characters navigate their own personal struggles and relationships, they become increasingly aware of the interconnectedness of all life forms and the urgent need to protect the natural world.
Major themes in “The Overstory” include environmental conservation, the power of nature, human interconnectedness with the natural world, the consequences of deforestation and environmental degradation, the resilience of ecosystems, and the importance of collective action in addressing ecological crises. Through its richly developed characters and lyrical prose, the novel prompts readers to reconsider their relationship with the environment and contemplate the profound beauty and complexity of the natural world.
It was a little weird, to be sure, but I did think the perspective of Nature personified was interesting.
Of course, there were other secondary readings, including a handful of related poetry but I didn’t feel the need to include them. However, they were a small blip on the radar this semester and I decided to keep the majority of my focus on the primary readings & larger secondary readings. I was rather selective about which secondary readings (mainly the ones I mentioned & reviewed above) I gave a reasonable amount of attention to, and the rest I merely skimmed for the general gist of the content. Skimming is something one is often forced to do in a major like English, where the content and course load is often a wee bit unrealistic, with little time and space to truly digest or contemplate anything deeply.
In the grand scheme of the English major, I would say this was the easiest course I’ve had in a while? At least, since community college. Which is something I have grown to expect of 100-level and 200-level courses, not much of a challenge. Not in the way 300-level and 400-level lectures can be, with greater depth and usually a larger workload. I did appreciate having a slightly easier course mixed in, with the other two courses having more difficult (classic 17th and 18th century) novels and secondary criticisms heavy in 17th and 18th century philosophies!
On that note, next post is the review of the course and readings from ENG 265!