In an era marked by intensifying environmental degradation and accelerating climate change, we urgently need to rethink our cultural, ethical, and philosophical engagement with the planet. In this context, the Department of Languages and Literature – English would like to present an ongoing research project conducted by Ms. Aarthi R.M. under the supervision of Prof. Rani P.L. that explores the role of literature in addressing the climate crisis. Centering on the works of Amitav Ghosh—particularly The Hungry Tide (2004), The Great Derangement (2016), Tide, and The Nutmeg’s Curse (2021)- the study investigates how fiction can serve as a critical and imaginative response to ecological collapse. Drawing upon the ecosophical frameworks of Arne Naess and Félix Guattari, the research adopts an interdisciplinary lens that combines environmental ethics, literary analysis, and cultural theory. Guattari’s concept of the three ecologies—environmental, social, and mental—offers a particularly rich framework for understanding how climate change is not just a scientific or political issue but also a crisis of subjectivity and imagination.
The study expects to offer a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the climate crisis by integrating the cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of environmental change. It aims to reveal the deep entanglement between ecological degradation and historical injustices, such as colonialism and capitalist expansion, which Ghosh’s narratives powerfully articulate. Furthermore, it seeks to encourage transformative thinking that moves beyond techno-scientific solutions and toward ethical and narrative reimaginings of the human-nature relationship. By situating literature as a key site of ecological reflection and resistance, the research intends to strengthen the field of climate humanities and eco-literary scholarship, asserting literature’s unique capacity to inspire ecological consciousness and systemic change. Ultimately, this project positions literary discourse as essential to confronting the multi-layered crises of the Anthropocene.
