Introduction

Caroline Schaumann

Heather I. Sullivan

pp. 7-21

in: Caroline Schaumann (ed), German ecocriticism in the anthropocene, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

The introduction to German Ecocriticism defines and contextualizes the environmental humanities, ecocriticism, and the Anthropocene in terms of German-speaking literature and film from the early nineteenth century through today. The volume, however, goes beyond national boundaries by addressing the implications of and the need for transnational, cosmopolitan, and "planetary" perspectives for textual explorations of the physical environment. We briefly outline the book's chapters that are organized thematically in four parts: "Interactions with Place and Ecological Systems: Local and Global," "Vibrant Matter: Rocks, Minerals, and Food," "Representing Catastrophe, Crisis, and Ecological Devastation," and "Genres in the Anthropocene." By offering a critical investigation into cultural performances of nature in manifold forms, this volume provides specifically German-focused studies of global environmental issues.