Ecocriticism in relation to the Southeast Asian region is relatively
new. So far, John Charles Ryan's Ecocriticism in Southeast Asia is the
first book of its kind to focus on the region and its literature to give
an ecocritical analysis: that volume compiles analyses of the
eco-literatures from most of the Southeast Asian region, providing a
broad insight into the ecological concerns of the region as depicted in
its literatures and other cultural texts.
This edited volume furthers the study of Southeast Asian ecocriticism,
focusing specifically on prominent myths and histories and the myriad
ways in which they connect to the social fabric of the region. Our book
is an original contribution to the expanding field of ecocriticism, as
it highlights the mytho-historical basis of many of the region's
literatures and their relationship to the environment.
The varied articles in this volume together explore the idea of nature
and its relationship with humans. The always problematic questions that
surround such explorations, such as "why do we regard nature as
'external'?" or "how is humankind a continuum with nature?", emerge
throughout the volume either overtly or implicitly. As Pepper (1993)
points out, what Karl Marx referenced as 'first' or 'external' nature
gave rise to humankind. But humanity "worked on this 'first' nature to
produce a 'second' nature: the material creations of society plus its
institutions, ideas and values." (Pepper, 108). Thus, our volume
constantly negotiates this field of ideas and belief systems, in diverse
ways and in various cultures, attempting to relate them to the current
ecological predicaments of ASEAN. It will likely prove an invaluable
resource for scholars and students of ecocriticism and, more broadly, of
Southeast Asian cultures and literatures.
