Ecofeminist Literary Pedagogy in India

This paper aims to draw a route map for a distinctly Indian ecofeminist literary pedagogy that would encourage and equip literature students to address the growing ecological challenges. Ecofeminist literary criticism which remained an extremely marginal presence in Indian academia for over a decade has recently seen a surge in interest with the publication of several edited volumes, papers, theses etc. Many young researchers feel the need to respond to some of the biggest issues around them through their practice of literary criticism. However, a look at the literature classrooms in India shows that ecofeminism, like most other environmental perspectives, suffers from stagnation- it remains a minor point of discussion under ‘ecocriticism’, often perceived as an outdated and essentialist idea by many students. It is this gap in pedagogy that we address in the paper. We attempt to map out the larger concerns of ecofeminism, its emergence in India and look at how an ecofeminist pedagogy, with its firm roots in activism and intersectionality, can reinvigorate the discussions on regionality, postcoloniality, neoliberalism, and much more in literature classes.