And so, 2025 has arrived, bringing a new project that defined itself in just a few days, like a gift: Letteraterra, An Ecocritical Notebook of a Literary Wanderer. Stories of Humans, Animals, and Worlds to advocate sustainability.
I will draw a map to understand, imagine, and realize a sustainable world, blending literary tradition with the urgency of environmental challenges.
This is, indeed, a notebook, containing traces of a journey, an exploration into ecocriticism as a discipline.
From time to time, we’ll wink at travel literature, a sister of ecocriticism, and attempt to tell original stories—ecocritical signals from Rome and Italy.
I will also experiment with AI tools to understand how they can assist in studying and producing literature.
I'm excited and a little bit scared. Letteraterra is a challenge because I’ve decided to write in English, even though I’m not a native speaker. I hope that the support of technology and my passion for this language will help me create texts worthy of the audience that will read them.
As with any journey, a map is needed, and I thought the best way to introduce ecocritical studies would be to trace the key milestones of their evolution. This timeline outlines the key moments and thinkers who have shaped the field, from Romantic-era reflections on nature to contemporary engagements with digital tools and global environmental challenges.
Take it as a personal syllabus
Each week, we’ll leap from one branch to another, occasionally pausing to delve deeper into the current state of ecocritical studies, both globally and in Italy, to better understand the direction the research is heading and its potential future developments.
In particular, we’ll explore the revival of the connection between science, literature, and global environmental activism, which gives these studies a universal perspective that seems to have been lost in the contemporary world.
Timeline:
Early Foundations (18th - 19th Century)
Authors: William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau.
Key Concepts: Early environmental consciousness; reverence for nature as a source of inspiration, spirituality, and moral truth.
Wordsworth's poetry celebrates the sublime and restorative power of nature.
Emerson's Nature (1836) advocates understanding humanity's relationship with the natural world.
Thoreau's Walden (1854) emphasizes simplicity and living in harmony with nature.
Mid-20th Century Precursors to Ecocriticism
Authors: Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold.
Key Concepts: Environmental ethics and awareness.
Carson's Silent Spring (1962) highlights ecological interconnectedness and human impact on ecosystems.
Leopold's A Sand County Almanac (1949) introduces the concept of a "land ethic."
Emergence of Ecocriticism as a Discipline (1970s-1980s)
Key Figures: William Rueckert (coined the term "ecocriticism"), Cheryl Glotfelty, Glen Love.
Key Concepts: Rueckert’s essay Literature and Ecology (1978) introduces applying ecological principles to literary studies.
Increasing focus on the relationship between literature and the environment.
Critical questions about how literature reflects and influences environmental values.
Ecocriticism as a Field of Study (1990s)
Key Figures: Cheryll Glotfelty, Harold Fromm.
Key Texts: Glotfelty and Fromm’s anthology The Ecocriticism Reader (1996).
Key Concepts: Interdisciplinary approaches to literature, environment, and cultural studies.
Ecocriticism expands into analyzing global environmental literature.
Broadening of the Field (2000s)
Key Figures: Ursula K. Heise, Timothy Morton.
Key Concepts: Heise’s Sense of Place and Sense of Planet (2008) introduces eco-cosmopolitanism, encouraging global perspectives on environmental issues.
Morton’s Ecology Without Nature (2007) critiques traditional concepts of "nature" and advocates for ecological thinking that transcends binary distinctions.
Integration with Postcolonial and Feminist Studies (2000s-2010s)
Key Figures: Rob Nixon, Greta Gaard.
Key Concepts: Nixon’s Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor (2011) examines the intersection of environmental degradation, colonialism, and social justice.
Ecofeminism grows, connecting environmental exploitation with gender oppression.
Digital Ecocriticism and the Digital Humanities (2010s-Present)
Key Figures: Joni Adamson, John Parham.
Key Concepts: Adamson emphasizes the role of storytelling and multimedia in promoting environmental awareness.
Parham explores the use of digital tools to analyze ecological themes in literature.
Rise of data-driven studies in literature, such as mapping ecological metaphors or visualizing environmental data through digital tools.
Future Directions
Ecocriticism continues to evolve, integrating artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and other technologies to explore humanity’s relationship with the environment.
Expanding dialogue between science, literature, and global environmental activism.
If you are interesten to knon more about Letteraterra read the About page