Presentation Title
A Silenced Other: Literary Reformation for Planetary Justice
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
College
College of Art & Letters
Major
English
Session Number
2
Location
RM 217
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Brenda Glascott
Juror Names
Moderator: Dr. Annie Buckley
Start Date
5-19-2016 3:40 PM
End Date
5-19-2016 4:00 PM
Abstract
Since the early nineteen nineties, concern over the health and prosperity of our planet has been a strong concern for those in the scientific and environmental spheres. Currently, the welfare of Earth, and the negative impacts humans have on our planet, has moved into the political and cultural consciousness of our civilizations. Moreover, the notion of apocalyptic occurrences have been an abjectly pervasive fascination within film and literature. These mediums have attempted to showcase the danger that lies before us, should we not actively inject the welfare of the Earth into the daily decisions of our lives. However, a cultural movement must supervene wherein the anthropocentric perspective is removed from culture, in favor of a planetary one. Using the novelization of the film Interstellar by Greg Keyes, I intend to highlight the ways in which we can apply literature outside the limiting confines of the human perspective, to shift
Earth into a perspective of utmost importance. In this way, literature can become a means to transition the mindset of human advancement and convenience, to that in which Earth can still thrive as it did long before the industrial revolution of man. For too long, Earth has served as a scenic backdrop, or as a catalyst for gripping plot lines. Now, more than ever, is the time to allow Earth’s voice to adopt a first persona narrative within our works, in order to highlight the ways in which planetary concerns are not secondary to that of human’s perspectives.
A Silenced Other: Literary Reformation for Planetary Justice
RM 217
Since the early nineteen nineties, concern over the health and prosperity of our planet has been a strong concern for those in the scientific and environmental spheres. Currently, the welfare of Earth, and the negative impacts humans have on our planet, has moved into the political and cultural consciousness of our civilizations. Moreover, the notion of apocalyptic occurrences have been an abjectly pervasive fascination within film and literature. These mediums have attempted to showcase the danger that lies before us, should we not actively inject the welfare of the Earth into the daily decisions of our lives. However, a cultural movement must supervene wherein the anthropocentric perspective is removed from culture, in favor of a planetary one. Using the novelization of the film Interstellar by Greg Keyes, I intend to highlight the ways in which we can apply literature outside the limiting confines of the human perspective, to shift
Earth into a perspective of utmost importance. In this way, literature can become a means to transition the mindset of human advancement and convenience, to that in which Earth can still thrive as it did long before the industrial revolution of man. For too long, Earth has served as a scenic backdrop, or as a catalyst for gripping plot lines. Now, more than ever, is the time to allow Earth’s voice to adopt a first persona narrative within our works, in order to highlight the ways in which planetary concerns are not secondary to that of human’s perspectives.
