A POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR ECO-COSMOPOLITANISM: RETHINKING HEISE’S “CANON” OF ENVIRONMENTAL WORLD LITERATURE

Abstract

Against the backdrop of globalization, prolific ecocritic Ursula Heise has traced a “canon” of environmental world literature to become a “point of departure” for eco-cosmopolitanism with the goal of re-orienting Anglo-American ecocriticism such that it no longer valorises the local as the preferred site to address the global environmental crisis. This thesis argues that Heise’s project of tracing a “canon” of environmental world literature to become a “point of departure” for ecocosmopolitanism can be refined. In the first section of Chapter 1, I will identify how Heise intends for her “canon” of environmental world literature to become a “point of departure” for eco-cosmopolitanism. Then, in the second section, I will highlight the implications of using “canon” as an organising term for this collection of environmental world literature, before drawing attention to the disadvantages of using “canon” as an organising term: namely, the doctrinal nature associated with the texts within “canons” and the sanctioned way of reading that this particular “canon” enforces may not relate to ecocosmopolitanism in the way that Heise originally anticipated. Chapter 2 and 3 will focus on refining Heise’s project in response to such disadvantages: Chapter 2 will first analyse Lang Tu Teng as a part of its national literary tradition, before reflecting upon Wolf Totem’s status as a part of this “canon” of environmental world literature. With this reflection, I will conclude Chapter 2 by establishing the word “syllabus” as a new organising term for Heise’s collection of environmental world literature. Chapter 3 will propose a refinement of the reading method that Heise has applied to her collection of environmental world literature, with the objective of better supporting Heise’s objective of attaining a vision of ecocosmopolitanism. Ultimately, this thesis argues that only be acknowledging the presence of localities (and worlds) distinct from our own can we truly lay claim to a cosmopolitan perspective.