This semester, Associate Professor Tommy Davis is teaching English 4590.06H: The Modern Period, with the special topic the Art of Anthropocene or, An Unnatural History of Modernism.

What is the Anthropocene? To put it in the words of Davis’ student Paul Choe, “It’s undeniable that the conditions for human flourishing on this planet are rapidly deteriorating and require adjustment on our part; anthropogenic climate change has been so great that we may have established our own geologic epoch (i.e. the Anthropocene).” For Choe, “this is the most important issue that our species has ever had to confront because it almost certainly demands that any sustainable future for humankind must be radically reconfigured from the present notions we cling to.” In essence, the trajectory of humanity’s practices, i.e., capitalism, have resulted in particular inevitable consequences in our world.

In this particular class session, Davis delved into anthropocenic concepts in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, a nonfiction book about the increasing effects of pesticides on the environment, and JG Ballard’s The Drowned World, a science-fiction novel about climate and social change.

The texts are similar in that they examine changes in environment in terms of the Anthropocene; however, they differ in that Carson presents an argument utilizing realism—presenting tangible evidence to elicit a particular emotional response—while Ballard utilizes science fiction to speculate about potential future human populations. Ballard is able to de-politicize discussions about changes in the environment utilizing the genre of science fiction, which allows for audiences to deal with current ideas of geopolitical reality.

Remarkably, The Drowned World underscores that the hostile environment within the novel exists not because of the mistakes of humankind but because of the inevitable threat of solar flares, which increases the potential anxieties raised by the novel. Silent Spring, of course, posits the exact opposite—calling to mind the possibility of extinction by our own hand. The other students surmised that when we think humans exist to control nature, problems inevitably rise that result in humans contaminating everything and exacerbating environmental (and social) problems all the more.

Paul Choe commented that: “It feels so important that we pay attention to climate change/the Anthropocene b/c of it will be the center of geopolitical crisis. What will happen when, as sea levels rise and people are forced to leave their homes, climate refugees begin approaching the Southern border of the United States? Will our government and media call them ‘diseases, thugs, invaders’ just as they are calling the Central American caravan today? I have no doubt they will. The diffused rhetorics of protectionism and patriotism (which are, quite often, poorly veiled fascism and imperialism) will dominate political agendas in relation to climate change just as they are doing right now. But this to me is why I’m so drawn to it… how do we begin to rethink what human abundance/flourishing looks like? We can’t necessarily reverse course, but how do we take on the urgent task of making considerations toward how we view ourselves and our relation to this planet?”

Discussing these ideas, an inevitable sense of hopelessness fills one’s chest. But, giving into these feelings, importantly, is not a productive way to engage with the world. Choe wrestled with this problem and came to the conclusion that “being in [Davis’s] classes have brought greater meaning and hope to my world. Like, it’s not to say that the class is super optimistic (the class can actually be kind of devastating), but Tommy’s classes have communicated to me that I can’t be content with being indifferent to the world around me. Even if I can’t do any one thing on my own, or even if I never get to see the hopeful future that I might fight for, that doesn’t mean that I should despair and give up/sit back and be apathetic. Tommy once told us ‘how many abolitionists do you think fought to end slavery that knew they would never see it in their lifetimes? But so many people continued to fight even if it meant that there was some hope that that future could be secured for future generations.’ Through literature, his lectures and our discussions, Professor Davis has helped activate in me (and likely in so many others) an urgency to be a part of something that truly works to do real good.”

Several students who enrolled in this class did not necessarily go in looking to enhance their education in environmental justice, but found that what they learned was not only useful to them personally; it was provoking, intriguing, and with much room for creative postulation.

“I have a huge interest in the literature of the Modernist period. I love the works of James Joyce and all of the American expatriates…so I knew the literature of this time period would be right in my wheelhouse. I previously had never considered reading these writers and others with an ‘environmental justice’ lens, but after this course I have since been exposed to a new way of interpreting these texts and imbuing them with present-day value. Professor Davis has truly opened my eyes to the ‘environmental humanities’ and reading literature with an interdisciplinary approach.” Vince Bella

Hannah Wagner did not enroll in this class specifically to learn about the environmental humanities. However, she has found that “searching for anthropocenic concepts in the literature we read for the class has me seeing the Anthropocene in everything I read. No writing takes place in a vacuum. All literature has aspects of the human-nature relationship.”

At a distance, Davis’ reading list can seem a bit odd: “One week you’re reading Woolf, the next a scientific journal, and the next a social scientific paper. It’s really interesting getting to class every day and getting to discover what supposedly separate spheres of study have in common. I find myself thinking about this class more often than any others, because it bleeds into everything. The Anthropocene is everywhere, and literature is just one tool used in its excavation.” Paul Choe added that Davis “has always been really effective at communicating ‘what’s at stake’ in the literature we read. This class has been a little different in that much of our time has been spent on reconfiguring/reimagining how we might read. Professor Davis has shown us that older texts that described and critiqued past life can be re-metabolized to gain relevance in contemporary contexts. Even writers such as Virginia Woolf (who wasn’t immediately concerned with the Anthropocene) can provide valuable insight on how humans are unable conceptualize experiences with deep time, one of the most significant aspects of the Anthropocene.”

In terms of coming away from the class with something tangible, Choe highlighted that “this class has helped me establish the connection climate change has to so many other things (empire, slavery, capitalism, etc.); I make those connections in almost everything I read now, ranging from social media to essays to novels.”

If you can take a class with Professor Davis, do it. “Professor Davis has this unique gift for making student feel engaged and empowered. He gives compelling/captivating lectures but always seeks the insights of the students and even manages to seamlessly incorporate that insight into the topics we discuss. He’s incredibly smart, knowledgeable and animated, but he seems to understand better than any professor I’ve had the need to be gracious and compassionate,” says Choe.

Tommy Davis will be teaching the following classes in spring 2019:

• English 3372 (30): Science Fiction and/or Fantasy—Climate Fiction
• English 4321: Environmental Literatures, Cultures and Media: Environmental Humanities

Interested in learning more? These three texts from the course were recommended by Davis’ students:

• A Brighter Sun by Sam Selvon (from Paul Choe: “go read it. Also read Selvon’s stuff with Frantz Fanon--they inform so much of my understanding on colonialism, blackness and problematic notions of humanity.”)
• Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (from Vince Bella: “I had always heard of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, but I never had the chance to read it. That changed after this class. It is a powerful work that still feels just as relevant today as it did in 1962.”)
• Orlando by Virginia Woolf (from Hannah Wagner: “So far, my favorite reading has been [this text]. Not only is Woolf a phenomenal writer, but her ability to span centuries in one work is amazing. I also loved the way nature was given agency in the book. It was an excellent introduction to climactic modernism.”)

Story by Michaela Corning-Myers