Ecocritical English: A Subject-led Approach to Sustainability

Abstract

In times like these, schools should teach as if place and planet matter. Despite the relevance of planetary health to every school subject, issues of environmental sustainability are marginalised in mainstream education. I argue that subject teachers should consider the distinctive contribution of their subjects to environmental sustainability. I develop this “subject-led” approach in relation to the teaching of English. The dominant construction of school English is rooted in identity and culture, whereas ecocriticism in literary and cultural studies shifts attention to the environment and theorises how texts represent the more than human world. I consider how ecocriticism can be adapted to inform the teaching of English in schools guided by the following research questions: what is the potential of a model of ecocritical English for teaching and learning in secondary schools? What theoretical and practical tools would help to develop this model? I study the case for ecocritical English from different angles in a linked chronological series of publications. Empirical work drew on a study of approaches in two Auckland schools, a pedagogical arts performance in Glen Innes and an arts installation event in a South Auckland secondary school. Ecocriticism informs my methodology for reading, while narrative inquiry is a frame for writing about classrooms, educational events and places. This is an interdisciplinary study which finds theoretical support in ecocriticism, English in education and literacy studies, but also draws on aspects of Futures Education, Education for Sustainability, theatre studies, post-carbon and green social theory. The research indicates that ecocritical English informs students’ environmental and cultural identities and can offer inspiration to teaching when adapted to specific cultural and environmental contexts. The investigation led to the development of a model of “3D Eco-Literacy” which has prompted dialogue about literacy teaching in English that also has relevance to other school subjects. I analyse green social theory perspectives against the English “Cox models” and “3D Eco- Literacy” to provoke discussion about the green political implications of different orientations to English. I recommend an ecocritical orientation to Secondary English supported by ecocritical principles, the 3D Eco-Literacy model and revised Cox models for English.