EZ102 Language & Ecology
Introduction
Language & Ecology (EZ102), is a fifteen week module taught by Arran Stibbe in the Humanities Department at the University of Gloucestershire. The module begins with a description of what happens when oral languages, fine-tuned to local ecological conditions, are displaced by the global spread of written languages. This is followed by sessions which investigate the potential ecological harm caused when certain discursive constructions of progress, economic growth, material consumption, success and convenience are spread on a global scale. The course then looks at discourses such as environmentalism, ecology and wildlife conservation, asking whether they can provide genuine alternatives to destructive discourses or whether they are are based on similar assumptions. The last part of the module involves exploration of a range of very different discourses, from the lyrical science writing of Rachel Carson, to romantic poetry, haiku and documentary films in a search for alternative discourses which have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable society.
This section was created to allow students to contribute to the wider research community through sharing their experience of the module, the findings of their research, and useful resources that they found.
Week 1
Introduction. This session provides a practical introduction to the course, then moves on to a workshop where students begin to form their views and concerns about ecological issues into a theoretical framework, articulating a vision of what becoming a more sustainable society entails.
Week 2
Language and human ecology. Based on the work of David Abram, this session begins by looking at what happens when oral languages, fine-tuned to local ecological conditions, are displaced by the global spread of written languages.
Week 3
Gender. This session will investigate how certain discourses of masculinity encourage men to engage in ecologically unsustainable behaviour such as excess meat consumption, purchase of large cars, excess alcohol consumption, reliance on junk/convenience food, and conspicuous consumption. Likewise, certain discourses of femininity are geared around creating dissatisfaction and encouraging consumption of unnecessary cosmetics, accessories, dieting goods, fashion items etc. This session will involve practical analysis of the discourse of men’s and women’s magazines with the aim of revealing ecologically (and socially) destructive ideology.
Week 4
Economics and advertising. This session will start by examining the discourse of microeconomics and its special ways of using terms such as ‘rationality’, ‘utility’, and ‘efficiency’, as well as macroeconomic concepts such as ‘growth’. From this basis we will examine how economic discourse has a pervasive influence on a range of everyday language including TV news, government speeches and, most importantly, advertising. In addition to traditional economic discourses, this session will analyse the emerging discourse of ‘New Economics’.
Week 5
The representation of animals in the animal product industry. The scale of the animal products industry, and the high intensity close confinement system of farming on which it depends, is a major cause of ecological destruction. This session will investigate the idea that the existence of modern high intensity farms depends on radically new discursive ways of representing animals. Practical analysis will include looking at metaphors and grammatical constructions which represent animals as object or machines, and considering the ecological consequences of treating them in line with those metaphors.
Week 6
Counter discourses: This session will investigate discourses which aim to ameliorate the effects of ecological destruction, including environmentalism, ecology, animal rights, and wildlife conservation. The question is whether these discourses provide new representations which can lead to cultural change, or whether they are based on the same assumptions as destructive discourses.
Week 7
Haiku. This class will begin with an analysis of Japanese haiku poems, as an example of a discourse based on radically different assumptions from both the destructive and counter discourses of the West. The discourse of haiku represents plants and animals as actively leading their own lives, for their own purposes, and encourages respect for nature. The session will include a haiku-writing workshop where students critically discuss their work with each other.
Week 8
Alternative discourses from transcendentalist literature. This class explores the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Dickinson to discover whether they use language in ways which encourage the reader to go beyond artificial constructions and find new ways of connecting with the natural world. (with guest facilitator, Debby Thacker)
Week 9
In this session students explore a range of discourses from North American literature, focusing primarily on Native American writing. The literature is presented in a full social and cultural context to avoid the imposition of idealised and narrow ecological frameworks on indigenous peoples, and instead consider the cultural framing of traditional ecological outlooks both in the past and present. (with guest facilitator, Shelley Saguaro)
Week 10
Multi-modal discourse. This session will bring together everything in the course by looking at a range of discourses in conjunction with the visual representations they use. Through examination of diverse materials, from diagrams in biology textbooks to the stunning environmentalist photography of Yann Arthus-Betrand, students will get an appreciation of how the discursive features of language are reflected in the structure of the images.
Week 11
Literacy skills for sustainability. This session will explore how insights from critical language study can be put into action to counteract the ecologically damaging effects of certain discourses, and discover or create alternative forms of language which can contribute to sustainability.
