Ecocriticism As Vegetarian Activism

ECOCRITICISM, SOMETIMES CALLED 'ENVIRONMENTAL criticism' or 'green studies,' is a field of study that began only a few decades ago, primarily in university English departments. It focused on environmental literature (for example, the nature writing of famous vegetarian advocate Henry David Thoreau). Today, with all kinds of environmental crises all over the world, the scope of ecocriticism has broadened immensely. People from fields as seemingly diverse as art, history, politics, economics, and biology are applying it to their work. More importantly, they are drawing connections between ecocriticism and various social, economic, and political theories, including those related to animal rights, feminism, and Marxism. Ecocriticism originally focused on environmental literature, like Thoreau.