Question

Which of the following is not a characteristic of Ecocriticism?

• A. Ecocriticism repudiates the idea of 'constructedness' of nature.
• B. Nature is culturally, socially and/or linguistically constructed.
• C. Nature is not reducible to a concept which we traditionally conceive as part of our cultural practice.
• D. Calling something 'nature', and seeing it as 'simply given', is usually a way of avoiding the politics which has made it that way.

Hint:

Be wary of statements with absolute words like "repudiates," "always," or "never" when discussing broad critical theories. Fields like ecocriticism contain diverse and often conflicting viewpoints, so a statement that presents a single, rigid stance for the entire field is often the incorrect one.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
Ecocriticism is a field of literary and cultural study that explores the relationship between literature and the physical environment. The question asks to identify a statement that is inconsistent with ecocritical thought.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's analyze the given statements:
\[\begin{array}{rl} \bullet & \text{Statement 2, 3, and 4 represent key ideas within ecocriticism. Contemporary ecocriticism frequently argues that our understanding of 'nature' is a social and cultural construct (Statement 2). It critiques the idea of 'nature' as a pure, apolitical given, pointing out that this view often hides the political and economic forces that shape environments (Statement 4). It also seeks to value nature as something more than just a human resource or cultural symbol (Statement 3). } \\ \bullet & \text{Statement 1 claims that ecocriticism repudiates (rejects) the idea that nature is constructed. This is not true. While some early "first-wave" ecocriticism focused on a more realist depiction of nature, the field as a whole has deeply engaged with, rather than rejected, the concept of social construction. Many ecocritics analyze precisely how nature is constructed in texts and what the consequences of those constructions are. To say the entire field "repudiates" this idea is incorrect. } \\ \end{array}\]

Step 3: Final Answer:
The statement that is not a characteristic of ecocriticism is (A).