Ecocomposition: Theoretical and Pedagogical Approaches

by Christian R. Weisser (Editor), Sidney Dobrin (Editor)

Ecocomposition examines current trends in universities toward more environmentally sound work, explores the intersections between composition research—that is, discourse studies—and ecostudies, and offers possible pedagogies for the composition classroom. Never before have the intersections between ecotheory and composition studies in theory and pedagogy been addressed in this much depth or detail. As universities become increasingly concerned with issues of the environment within academic disciplines across the spectrum, this book brings together a diverse group of prominent voices to discuss the development of ecocomposition and its possibilities, and to argue for a greening of composition studies through which to engage the world in which we live.

318 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I had no idea what ecocomposition was before reading this book. A friend of mine was reading it a year or two ago and I assumed the title referred to "environmental stuff." The intro to this book assures me that this is a common misconception, but that in reality, "ecology" is not just about "environmental stuff," but the idea of interrelated systems. Everything is part of a system and influences and is influenced by the system and everything else in it.

I came to this book looking for stuff on place so I'm only reading the chapters related to place (and identity cuz that's another hang-up of mine). So I am reading the following chapters:

Sidney Dobrin's "Writing Takes Place": Along with the intro, provides me a good background on what ecocomposition is. I like his focus on Florida and how our views of it are constructed by the media.

Julie Drew's "The Politics of Place: Student Travelers and Pedagogical Maps": I like how she talks about students being experienced in other places besides the classroom, students learning from many places besides the classroom, students bringing those other places into the classroom. I think this chapter is my favorite.

Anis Bawarshi's "The Ecology of Genre": This one is heavy. I think I need to reread to say anything coherent about it.

Christian Weisser's "Ecocomposition and the Greening of Identity": Most valuable is his construction of ecocomposition as the next step in comp studies continuing to consider the relationship between discourse and identity. (i.e. Expressivism started with the self, social constructionism turned to other people, ecocomposition as the next step.)

Arlene Plevin's "The Liberatory Positioning of Place in Ecocomposition: Reconsidering Paulo Freire": Plevin talks about having students write about places that have been meaningful for them. This gives students a way in and a sense of confidence. She then goes into readings, which ask students to see land as a subject (rather than as an object). I like hearing about her classroom activities. I do worry a little about the students' idyllic descriptions of place. And words like "natural" always get my antennae up. Plevin (and others) talk about the connections between views of land and views of other people. I think I'd like to hear more about how that works in the context of this course she describes.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has impacted me more this year than any other. It helped me conceptualize the idea of having an 'ecological self' and that has helped me in my discussion of place based education. Once again, if you care about sustainability, you should read this book.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scholarly and useful but ultimately too many essays on the same narrow topic so that the reading experience became all about minor distinctions. I also think it is a genre trait that writing on pedagogy is preachy, and doubly so when it's environmentalist pedagogy.