Ecological Literature and the Critique of Anthropocentrism, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2017

This book is an analysis of literary texts that question, critique, or subvert anthropocentrism, the notion that the universe and everything in it exists for humans. Bryan Moore examines ancient Greek and Roman texts; medieval to twentieth-century European texts; eighteenth-century French philosophy; early to contemporary American texts and poetry; and science fiction to demonstrate a historical basis for the questioning of anthropocentrism and contemplation of responsible environmental stewardship in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Ecological Literature and the Critique of Anthropocentrism  is essential reading for ecocritics and ecofeminists. It will also be useful for researchers interested in the relationship between science and literature, environmental philosophy, and literature in general.

1 Introduction: Anthropocentrism, the Anthropocene, and the Apocalypse.- 2 The Earth as Pinprick: Some Early Western Challenges to Anthropocentrism.- 3 Lowering the Human Throne: European Literature to 1900.- 4 Teleology, Ecology, and Unity in the French Enlightenment.- 5 Courses of Empire: Ecological Apocalypse in Early American Literature.- 6 Jeffers’s Inheritors: “Transhuman Magnificence” in Late-Twentieth Century American Poetry.- 7 Antianthropocentrism and Science Fiction Part I: From Antiquity to World War II.- 8 Antianthropocentrism and Science Fiction Part II: After World War II and into the Twenty-first Century.

Bryan L. Moore is Professor of English at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas where he lives with his wife and children. He is the author of Ecology and Literature: Ecocentric Personification from Antiquity to the Twenty-first Century (Palgrave 2008) as well as many articles. 

Presents a comprehensive study on the literary history surrounding anthropocentrism

Surveys a tremendous range of literature, dating back to Greek philosophy through the Romantics to finally contemporary literature

Combines literary history with frequent interpretation and analysis in accessible language

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras