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Ecocriticism In The Twentieth Century Essay

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During the twentieth century, there was a significant change in predominant representations of and beliefs about the nature of Afro-American identity. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, blacks were almost always seen as inherently rural. According to this view, Africans were living in or recently emerged from the jungle. American Negroes were slightly different, having been domesticated and trained to do farm work. The most natural and best place for Negroes was on the farm; blacks did not yet understand civilization, would not be able to handle life in a modern city, and would be out competed in the workforce by the more adept and urban whites. In the twentieth century, however, black identity in the United States became naturalized as urban. At this time, “urban” and “black” became code words for one another-“urban” radio means radio stations that …show more content…

Eco-criticism by and large is concerned with the relationship between humans and the landscape. Early theories in literary studies focus on issues of class, race, gender, region as important criteria of critical analysis. The late twentieth century has woken up to a new threat: ecological disaster. Ecocriticism is the result of this new consciousness, that very soon, there will be nothing beautiful in nature to discourse about, unless we are careful.
Ecocriticism is not a unitary theory. Different strands of eco-criticism proliferate into various sub-fields of eco-conscious studies. Ecocriticism expands the notion of the world to include the entire ecosphere. Though eco-critical writings speak of nature, all nature writing works are not eco-critical. The presence of a bond between the human and the non human generally forms the eco-critical basis of a text. Ecocriticism pleads for a better understanding of nature, and it both interprets and represents the natural world. It seeks to protect the ecological rights of

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