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From protest demonstrations, marches, and acts of civil disobedience, to more radical acts like “monkeywrenching” or “ecotage”, environmental activism as a critical practice takes on many forms. These practical forms are nevertheless symbolic acts carried out on behalf of a cause; indeed, they are symbolic, much like representations of activism in literature. Both protest demonstrations and their literary depictions function as interventions in the realm of cultural representation and public discourse. In this course, we will analyze the literary representations of environmental activism in two key contemporary texts: John Vaillant’s The Golden Spruce and T.C. Boyle’s A Friend of the Earth.
Required texts (please be sure to buy these particular editions):
– Boyle, T.C. A Friend of the Earth. London: Bloomsbury, 2004.
– Vaillant, John. The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed. London: Arrow Books. 2005.
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