Cripping Trees: Eco-Crip Communication and Temporality in Richard Powers' The Overstory Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

In the late 20th century, two fields of criticism began to forge their paths in literary history: ecocriticism and critical disability studies. While they have developed separately, commonalities both in theme and approach have emerged. Like two roots of the same tree, they have begun to intertwine to form an expansive and crucial field – eco-crip theory. Coined by Sarah Jaquette Ray and Jay Sibara, an eco-crip theory brings together ideas of both critical approaches, positing that there is much to learn in the intersections. For this thesis, I have chosen to examine Richard Powers’ novel, The Overstory, which garnered critical acclaim for its exploration of the lives of trees. I argue that Powers, by connecting disability and the environment, brings together human and nonhuman lives to question notions of communication and time. I discuss how deaf gain can inform conversations around tree and plant communication and then show how networks of care like those in disability communities as well as forests might serve as a template for a more symbiotic relationship between people and place. By examining crip time alongside deep time, I show how disability and the environmental humanities are concerned with temporality, and, when put in conversation, reveal an eco-crip theory of time. By pairing ecocritical and disability frameworks, I show how The Overstory emerges as a key eco- crip text, one that celebrates human and biological diversity through its exploration of communication and temporality. 

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

A Note on Terminology......................................................................................11

Chapter One: What if Trees Were Deaf and Mute?.......................................................................15

Chapter Two: Watching Grass Grow ............................................................................................34 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................51

Works Cited...................................................................................................................................55 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	English
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Literature, American
关键词	Critical Plant Studies Ecocriticism Disability Studies
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Benjamin Reiss, Emory University
Committee Members	John Sitter, Emory University John Wegner, Emory University

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