the study of the relationships between environments (and by that we mean natural, constructed, and even imagined places) and discourse (speaking, writing, and thinking). Ecocomposition draws primarily from disciplines that study discourse (chiefly composition, but also including literary studies, communication, cultural studies, linguistics, and philosophy) and merges the perspectives of them with work in disciplines that examine environment (these include ecology, environmental studies, sociobiology, and other "hard" sciences). As a result, ecocomposition attempts to provide a more holistic, encompassing framework for studies of the relationship between discourse and environment. (6)
“Ecocomposition hopes to bridge this gap between domains by recognizing that the specialization of composition studies – discourse – is inextricably linked to at least one specialization in the hard sciences – ecology. Perhaps one of the most significant goals of ecocomposition is its desire to cross the boundaries between the two academic cultures of the humanities and the sciences, and, in the process, make the connections between the various tongues of each” (4). The authors argue that because composition has made a move toward examining the social (post process), it is already studying ecology.
They consistently draw a connection between discourse and the environment (hence their title).
While discourse does indeed shape our human conceptions of the world around us, discourse itself arises from a biosphere that sustains life. That is, while discourse "creates" the world in the human mind, the biospheric physical environment is the origin of life (and consequently, the human mind) itself. The relationship between discourse and environment is reciprocal…What we are suggesting is that our vocabulary says quite a lot about the particular environment in which we live. Language reflects place. So, in effect, preserving natural places, ecosystems, and the denizens of them is a move that preserves the fullness, depth, and precision of our discourse. (13)
Additionally, they state, “Ecocomposition also contends that all organisms mediate their conduct and thought through systems of signs (though we note the difficulty in assessing thought or measuring such claim in all organisms in any reliable manner, since doing so would require an anthropomorphic filter). Ecocomposition listens to the language and signs of nature as text which can and should be interpreted. That is, ecocomposition identifies languages and signs other than human languages as critical to the notion of ecological communication and seeks to give voice to nature in its own right rather than simply as a subject about which humans assign voice” (53).
Hegemony
“Quite frequently, when students or other writers enter into a web, it is difficult for them to create enough disturbance to shake the web. Instead, environments often subsume organisms into the ecosystems to maintain operational integrity. Approaching hegemony as an environmental structure can shed a good deal of light on ways in which environments can maintain particular relationships in order to retain its structure. Cooper's web provides an interesting metaphor for examining hegemony” (21). “What ecocomposition identifies is that homeostasis is not hegemony…That is, resistence writing stands to move away from hegemonic environments and move toward homeostasis with a newly defined environment” (78). This also means that students should be taught to be activists (58).
“What ecocomposition recognizes is that homeostasis is necessary to some degree. That is, in order for writing to be effective, its production must occur within the parameters of local environments; it must know its own range of tolerance. Writing must conform to certain preinscribed rubrics in order for it to function. Writing must use a particular (accepted) discourse; in fact, it must use prescribed language and conventions. Particular communities and styles (genres) of discourse provide the environment in which writers operate. Genres function like ecosystems; they define those very ranges of tolerance” (77).
History of Ecology and Writing
- “The term was first used (in modern times) by Henry Thoreau in 1858, but it was not clearly defined until German zoologist Ernst Haeckel offered in r869 that ‘oecology’ is the study of all relationships between an organism and its organic and inorganic environments. In other words, ecology seeks to explain how living creatures work with and against one another for resources and space” (62).
- “What is interesting about Haekel's definition is that it smacks of the links to economic notions of cost, benefit, and waste. Haeckel was most likely also influenced by his contemporary Karl Marx… Regardless of its origin, the metaphor of economics has been pervasive throughout ecology's short history” (63)
- “Yet, as ecologist Donald Worster notes, the study of ecology "is much older than the name" (378). The history of ecology is as old as the history of human communication…[W]riting began as a means by which to record, count, calculate, codify, and taxonimize human relationships with nature” (63).
- “Hippocrates' claims can be seen as the first notion of ecological perspective which first formulates…‘that human minds, bodies, even whole societies, were shaped by their geographic location, their climate and topography’…Hippocrates ultimately informs contemporary cultural studies that we must also consider environment in examining the construction of culture” (68).
Activist Intellectual
The authors argue that Composition’s move to public writing is in line with ecocomposition’s interest in “ways to bring about political, social, and/or environmental change – both practical, theoretical, and epistemological” (86). They argue that public writing is often seen as “any written discourse that attempts to address an issue of importance to any local, regional, or national group or groups in order to bring about progressive societal change” (87). Instead, the authors assert that public writing can concentrate on more local environments. Likewise, “the role of the public intellectual [is] often reserved for a few highly visible scholars, creates a definition of the public intellectual which places public intellectuals in the cult of celebrity…We wish to argue for activist intellectuals – intellectuals who take their work to the streets, as it were, in smaller, more localized public venues” (87).
Pedagogy
The authors describe the two curricula proposed in their article: ecological literacy – which focuses on nature writing as its main focus – and discursive ecology – which “emphasizes writing and discourse as the subject” (116). Either way, the authors emphasize that it is important that the class is not focused on analysis of texts; it should be focused on writing, on the production of texts. This is what makes it a composition class instead of a literature class.