Roundtable Discussion Panel Proposal

SLS Conference 2002

Pasadena, CA

 

Submitted May 30, 2002

 

Michael Bryson, Roosevelt University (Organizer and Chair)

Janine DeBaise, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY
Sue Hagedorn, Virginia Polytechnic and State University

Christopher Kuipers, University of California at Irvine

Jeffrey Thomson, Chatham College

 


Title

 

"The Fit Seems Natural:  A Roundtable Exploration of Science, Literature, and Ecocriticism"

 

 

Focus

 

This roundtable discussion unites two exciting scholarly conversations that have developed in parallel fashion but have intersected infrequently:  science and literature studies (or, as the field is sometimes called, "SciLit studies") and the investigations of literature's relationship with the environment (or "ecocriticism," the current term in vogue).  Both areas have long-established roots, but have grown tremendously and enjoyed increasing visibility within the humanities the last fifteen years.  Currently each field is represented by an interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal (Configurations and ISLE, respectively), professional associations (our own SLS and the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment), and annual conferences.  Both areas are anchored by a common interest in literature and literary criticism, yet both strive to be interdisciplinary by welcoming the work of scientists, historians, philosophers, environmental activists, and others.  Despite these similarities, however, there has been relatively little overlap between these two conversations:  environmental literature and science often play a marginal role in SciLit studies, and ecocriticism usually pays only cursory attention to biology, ecology, and other natural sciences in its analysis of literature and environmental history.

 

This roundtable discussion panel addresses this gap by exploring the numerous and varied connections between SciLit studies and ecocriticism--a fit that seems, in a word, natural.  Drawing upon our own research programs and teaching experiences, we tackle a diverse but coherent set of questions that illustrate the challenges and rich possibilities of integrating literary, environmental, and scientific studies:  How does science both inform and critique ecocriticism?  Conversely, in what ways does an environmental perspective--such as that afforded by ecofeminism--challenge and reshape our views and assumptions about science?  What sort of metaphors have we devised for nature, and how are those colored and shaped by our scientific perspectives?  What are the challenges and benefits of teaching writing and environmental literature to scientists-in-the-making?  What are the roots of the ecocritical approach to literature, and how do these beginnings throw light upon past and present attitudes about science and nature?  What, by contrast, do contemporary scientific ideas--such as chaos theory and its echoes in environmental literature--tell us about how we understand and represent the natural world?  Moreover, how are these representations of nature reworked and used into the discourse of environmentalism that occurs in popular scientific writing for magazines and newspapers?  Finally, how do the answers to these questions change when the geographic setting shifts from the United States to the Baltic States?

 

 

Format

 

The panel's structure is designed to maximize constructive interaction among the six participants and to incorporate active discussion from the audience.   The Chairperson will introduce the session, articulate the key questions under consideration, and moderate the roundtable.  Each of the five panelists will have three minutes to make a brief position statement, after which the group will engage in focused discussion.  Assuming a 90-minute session, the last 30 minutes will incorporate questions and comments from the audience.  In lieu of writing formal papers for individual presentation, participants will exchange brief and informal position statements in advance of the conference and respond to each other's ideas via an online discussion forum set up by the Chair.  In this sense, the roundtable will evolve from this initial proposal toward an even more focused and reflective session in October.  Finally, to facilitate audience interaction with the panel, the position statements and key questions will be made available on the web a few weeks in advance of the conference.

 

 

Participant Information

 

Michael Bryson

Associate Professor of Humanities

Evelyn T. Stone University College

Roosevelt University

430 S. Michigan Ave.

Chicago, IL  60605

tel: 312-281-3148

mbryson@roosevelt.edu

http://faculty.roosevelt.edu/bryson

 

Janine DeBaise
State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF)

105 Moon Library
One Forestry Drive
Syracuse, NY 13210
jmdebais@syr.edu
tel: 315-47-4776
fax:  315-470-6512

 

Sue Hagedorn

Department of English

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, VA 24061

hagedors@vt.edu

tel: 540-231-4748

http://www.english.vt.edu/%7Ehagedorn/hp.html

 

Christopher Kuipers
Faculty Fellow
Department of English and Comparative Literature
435 HIB
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697-2650
ckuipers@uci.edu
tel: 949-824-1995

Jeffrey Thomson
Director, Master of Arts in Writing and Assistant Professor of English
Chatham College
jthomson@chatham.edu
tel: 412/365-1190
fax: 412-365-1505