Environmental Themes in Utopian and Dystopian Literature

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Fazila Derya Agis

Ed. by Sean Seeger, University of Essex
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.1: Canadian Writing and Culture (Anglophone): Colonial and The Nineteenth Century, 1783-1900.
Vol. editors: Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia), Cynthia Sugars (University of Ottawa)

Dates

Date of occurrence c.1880-2018

Places

Canada (Involved)
United Kingdom (Involved)
United States (Involved)

Genres and Modes

Science Fiction
Utopian / Dystopian

Ecological Utopias

A utopia may be defined as an ideal place in which a society and its policies, promote the wellbeing of all inhabitants. In contrast, a dystopian society is full of fear and danger, one where human wellbeing is significantly imperilled. An ecological utopia, meanwhile, tends to promote an appreciation of nature and its beauty, and may be modelled on the biblical Garden of Eden. However, ecological dystopias serve to warn of the risks posed by the devastation of nature. This essay chronicles the development of ecological themes, both utopian and dystopian, from the sixteenth century to the present day.

The Sixteenth Century

In the sixteenth century, …

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2716 words

Citation: Agis, Fazila Derya. "Environmental Themes in Utopian and Dystopian Literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 November 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19525, accessed 20 April 2024.]

Save this article