Ecocinema Theory and Practice

Ecocinema Theory and Practice is the first collection of its kind―an anthology that offers a comprehensive introduction to the rapidly growing field of eco-film criticism, a branch of critical scholarship that investigates cinema’s intersections with environmental understandings. It references seminal readings through cutting edge research and is designed as an introduction to the field as well as a sourcebook. It defines ecocinema studies, sketches its development over the past twenty years, provides theoretical frameworks for moving forward, and presents eloquent examples of the practice of eco-film criticism through essays written by the field’s leading and emerging scholars. From explicitly environmental films such as Werner Herzong's Grizzly Man and Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow to less obvious examples like Errol Morris's Fast, Cheap & Out of Control and Christopher Nolan's Inception, the pieces in this collection comprehensively interrogate the breadth of ecocinema. Ecocinema Theory and Practice also directs readers to further study through lists of recommended readings, professional organizations, and relevant periodicals.

Stephen Rust is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Oregon where he teaches film history and media aesthetics. His research explores the intersections of media, culture, and environment. His work has appeared in such journals as Film & History, ISLE, and Jump Cut. He is currently writing an article on ecocinema for the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Literature and Environment and a book on the representation of global environmental change in contemporary Hollywood cinema.

Salma Monani is Assistant Professor at Gettysburg College’s Environmental Studies department. As a humanities scholar her research and teaching includes explorations in literary ecocriticism and cine-ecocriticism. She has published in peer reviewed journals such as ISLE and Local Environments, co-edited a special collection devoted to ecomedia and just sustainability for Environmental Communication: The Journal of Nature and Culture, and is currently working on a book project examining contemporary indigenous ecocinema expressions in the Americas.

Sean Cubitt is Professor of Film at Goldsmiths, University of London, Professorial Fellow in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne and Honorary Professor of the University of Dundee. His publications include Timeshift: On Video Culture, Videography: Video Media as Art and Culture, Digital Aesthetics, Simulation and Social Theory, The Cinema Effect and EcoMedia. He is the series editor for Leonardo Books at MIT Press. His current research is on digital light technologies, media art history and ecocriticism.