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The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place
Bioregionalism is an innovative way of thinking about place and planet from an ecological perspective. Although bioregional ideas occur regularly in ecocritical writing, until now no systematic effort has been made to outline the principles of bioregional literary criticism and to use it as a way to read, write, understand, and teach literature.
The twenty-four original essays here are written by an outstanding selection of international scholars. The range of bioregions covered is global and includes such diverse places as British Columbia’s Meldrum Creek and Italy’s Po River Valley, the Arctic and the Outback. There are even forays into cyberspace and outer space. In their comprehensive introduction, the editors map the terrain of the bioregional movement, including its history and potential to inspire and invigorate place-based and environmental literary criticism.
Responding to bioregional tenets, this volume is divided into four sections. The essays in the “Reinhabiting” section narrate experiments in living-in-place and restoring damaged environments. The “Rereading” essays practice bioregional literary criticism, both by examining texts with strong ties to bioregional paradigms and by opening other, less-obvious texts to bioregional analysis. In “Reimagining,” the essays push bioregionalism to evolve―by expanding its corpus of texts, coupling its perspectives with other approaches, or challenging its core constructs. Essays in the “Renewal” section address bioregional pedagogy, beginning with local habitat studies and concluding with musings about the Internet.
In response to the environmental crisis, we must reimagine our relationship to the places we inhabit. This volume shows how literature and literary studies are fundamental tools to such a reimagining.
The twenty-four original essays here are written by an outstanding selection of international scholars. The range of bioregions covered is global and includes such diverse places as British Columbia’s Meldrum Creek and Italy’s Po River Valley, the Arctic and the Outback. There are even forays into cyberspace and outer space. In their comprehensive introduction, the editors map the terrain of the bioregional movement, including its history and potential to inspire and invigorate place-based and environmental literary criticism.
Responding to bioregional tenets, this volume is divided into four sections. The essays in the “Reinhabiting” section narrate experiments in living-in-place and restoring damaged environments. The “Rereading” essays practice bioregional literary criticism, both by examining texts with strong ties to bioregional paradigms and by opening other, less-obvious texts to bioregional analysis. In “Reimagining,” the essays push bioregionalism to evolve―by expanding its corpus of texts, coupling its perspectives with other approaches, or challenging its core constructs. Essays in the “Renewal” section address bioregional pedagogy, beginning with local habitat studies and concluding with musings about the Internet.
In response to the environmental crisis, we must reimagine our relationship to the places we inhabit. This volume shows how literature and literary studies are fundamental tools to such a reimagining.
440 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 14, 2020
A very academic book written for specialists, with all the strengths and weaknesses of such texts.
Bioregionalism is defined broadly. It proposes "that human identity may be constituted by our residence in a larger community of natural beings—our local bioregion—rather than…national, state, ethnic, or other more common bases of identity" (4). Since bioregionalism is focused more locally, it is less concerned with crises and disasters. It attempts to be proactive by using the imagination to "create human communities that live sustainably in place" (4).
I think it would be fair to say that the hope of such an approach is to use the particulars of a given place in order to derive conclusions of universal benefit. It is not really about navel-gazing at all. (though it might appear that way to a skeptic)
This book contains 25 essays that explore the theory and practice of bioregionalism. You should be able to find the table of contents on Google Books or Amazon.
I found the book informative and well-intentioned. I also found it to be instructional and I will be exploring several of the books in its bibliography.
Bioregionalism is defined broadly. It proposes "that human identity may be constituted by our residence in a larger community of natural beings—our local bioregion—rather than…national, state, ethnic, or other more common bases of identity" (4). Since bioregionalism is focused more locally, it is less concerned with crises and disasters. It attempts to be proactive by using the imagination to "create human communities that live sustainably in place" (4).
I think it would be fair to say that the hope of such an approach is to use the particulars of a given place in order to derive conclusions of universal benefit. It is not really about navel-gazing at all. (though it might appear that way to a skeptic)
This book contains 25 essays that explore the theory and practice of bioregionalism. You should be able to find the table of contents on Google Books or Amazon.
I found the book informative and well-intentioned. I also found it to be instructional and I will be exploring several of the books in its bibliography.
Read
September 4, 2022I don't feel fair giving a rating since I didn't read all of it. I read a few essays and browsed through some others.
All of what I read is good and it is filled with interesting concepts and the integration of culture, geography, language, writing among other subjects which are all entwined to create humanity and our place in life.
It is more of a book for those really into the concept of bioregionalism but not as well-suited for a casual reader of the subject.
Still, all in all it is important and valuable thought.
All of what I read is good and it is filled with interesting concepts and the integration of culture, geography, language, writing among other subjects which are all entwined to create humanity and our place in life.
It is more of a book for those really into the concept of bioregionalism but not as well-suited for a casual reader of the subject.
Still, all in all it is important and valuable thought.
January 8, 2021
An excellent primer on the topic, with a beautiful variety of examples
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews