Ecology, Decoloniality, and African Literature

This book addresses the pressing issues of environmentalism and its representations in African literature. It emphasizes how African writers articulate the consequences of ecological degradation while engaging with decolonial thought that underscores the epistemic importance of the enslaved and colonized quest for humanity and challenges Western narratives' exclusivity.

The chapters in this volume underscore the necessity to preserve the ecosystem of the oppressed, an ecology upholding connection with Indigenous people shaped by modernity's constraints. They validate perspectives of colonized, marginalized individuals, linking to geopolitical histories of anticolonialism and environmentalism. The focus refutes colonial-capitalist ecological notions while integrating local and indigenous ecosystem models, advocating communal living. This book assesses how literary interventions in Africa align with ethical reorientation and ecological reimagining beyond colonial modernity and capitalism, advancing hope in the Anthropocene. The work transcends academic collaboration by cultivating soil and sowing seeds to co-create foundations for collective thinking and action towards a just, decolonial future, establishing mutual respect and equality, enabling integration of ecological, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development.

This interdisciplinary volume sits at the intersection of environmental humanities, postcolonial studies, African literature, and decolonial theory and will be valuable to scholars and students in fields including literary criticism, environmental studies, cultural studies, Indigenous knowledge systems, and sustainable development. The book will particularly appeal to researchers focused on Global South perspectives, decolonial methodologies, and ecological justice movements

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Scrutiny2: Issues in English Studies in Southern Africa.