Rayson K. Alex - Ecocultural Ethics: Critical Essays

LEXINGTON BOOKS

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Alex, Rayson K., editor.

Title: Ecocultural ethics : critical essays / edited by Rayson K. Alex, S. Susan Deborah, Reena Cheruvalath, and Gyan Prakash.

Description: Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, 2017. | Series: Ecocritical theory and practice | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017044713 (print) | LCCN 2017039074 (ebook) | ISBN 9781498532488 (Electronic) | ISBN 9781498532471 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Environmental ethics--Social aspects--Case studies. | Culture--Moral and ethical aspects--Case studies.

Classification: LCC GE42 (print) | LCC GE42 .E328 2017 (ebook) | DDC 179/.1--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017044713

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

To the ecocriticism community in India and across the globe.

The editors wish to thank many individuals who have been involved in the bringing out of this volume. Some of the papers included in this volume were presented in the International Conference on Ecocultural Ethics: Recent Trends and Future Directions held in October 2014 in BITS Pilani K. K. Birla Goa Campus, Goa. First, we wish to place on record the organizers of this wonderful conference, especially Prof. Meenakshi Raman (head, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus), for the gracious thought and good intention in agreeing to hold a conference such as this in the institution. Her wholehearted support and encouragement has always held us in good stead. In addition, Mr. Solano Da Silva (lecturer, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus), Mr. K. Samuel Moses (assistant professor, Department of English, Madras Christian College, Chennai), Mr. B. Gnanabharathi (research scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus), Mr. Sushant Kishore (research scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus), and Mr. Vijay Lamani (office assistant, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, K.K. Birla Goa Campus) have been immensely involved in the organizing and management of this conference. The editors wish to thank them, without whom this book would not have seen the light of day.

Prof. K. E. Raman, the then director of BITS-Pilani was instrumental in sanctioning the proposal of the conference and holding this conference in the institution. We are filled with gratitude for his kind gesture and for believing in the organizers.

Our sincere gratitude also goes to the then office holders of Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE), who financially sponsored the conference. We owe special thanks to Prof. Mark C. Long, professor of English and director of the Integrative Studies Program, Keene State College, USA, for assisting us in the sponsorship process, delivering the keynote address and also writing the foreword for this volume. We are much indebted to Mark and are grateful for his constant interest and motivation toward the growth of ecocriticism in India.

We are also grateful to Prof. Rebecca E. Todd, University Counsel, Antioch University New England, USA, and visiting professor at Symbiosis School of Law, Pune, for being part of the conference and delivering an arresting talk in the conference. Her expertise as an environmental lawyer was a wonderful contribution to our conference.

Our gratitude also goes out to Prof. Amy McIntyre, the managing director of ASLE-US, who was quite helpful in granting us the sponsorship for holding this conference.

We would be failing in our duty if we did not thank our dear Prof. Nirmal Selvamony (head, Department of English, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Central University of Tamil Nadu), Dr. A. Rukmani (head, Department of Pharmacology, Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, Kanchipuram) and Prof. Simon C. Estok (professor English literature and critical theory, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea) for their support and motivation in all our endeavors.