Ecocomposition

Ecocomposition is a way of looking at literacy using concepts from ecology. It is a postprocess theory of writing instruction that tries to account for factors beyond hierarchically defined goals within social settings; however, it doesn't dismiss these goals. Rather, it incorporates them within an ecological view that extends the range of factors affecting the writing process beyond the social to include aspects such as "place" and "nature." Its main motto, then, is "Writing Takes Place" (also the title of one of Sidney I. Dobrin's articles on ecocomposition).

The theory for ecocomposition dates back to Marilyn Cooper's 1986 essay "The Ecology of Writing" and Richard Coe's "Eco-Logic for the Composition Classroom" (1975). More recently, Dobrin and Weisser (2002) have assembled a more detailed theory of ecocomposition, placing it in relation to ecofeminism, ecocriticism [http://www.asle.umn.edu/archive/intro/estok.html] , and environmental ethics. Other scholars (e.g., Reynolds, 2004) have shown its close proximity to social geography. As an educational endeavor, it is linked most closely with progressive education (Dewey, 1915), critical education (Giroux, 1987), and place-based education (Sobel, 2004). Ecocomposition is one area of scholarly study discussed at the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), a national forum for writing instructors and scholars.

While its main concern has been the relationship between the writing process and natural places, concepts of spatiality apply equally to cyberspace and online writing—in MUDs, MOOs, Internet Relay Chat, Instant Messages, and e-mail (Syverson, 1999; Yagelski, 2002). Additionally, ecocomposition should not be confused or conflated with other systemic approaches to writing such as activity theory, which do not account for the dynamic relationship between writing and place but posit a transcendent "context" that affects writing.

Ecocomposition asks what effects a place has (or different places have) on the writing process. In what ways is our identity influenced by place, and what bearing does this have on our writing? What sets of relationships help us define our place—including, but not limited to, the relationship between writer and reader? How do the sometimes contradictory sets of relationships in which we write allow us to see certain possibilities and foreclose others? How do these relationships define reality for each of us in different ways?

References

*Coe, R. (1975). "Eco-Logic for the composition classroom." "College Composition and Communication 26".3: 232–237.
*Cooper, M. (1986). "The Ecology of writing." "College English 48": 364–375.
*Dewey, J. (1915). "Democracy and education". New York: Free Press.
*Dobrin, S. and C. Weisser. (2002). "Natural discourse". Albany; SUNY Press.
*Long, M. (2001). "Education and environmental literacy: Reflections on teaching ecocomposition in Keene State College's environmental house." In S. Dobrin and C. Weisser, Eds. "Ecocomposition: Theoretical and pedagogical approaches". Albany: SUNY Press.
*Reynolds, N. (2004). "Geographies of writing: Inhabiting places and encountering difference". Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
*Sobel, D. (2004). "Place-based education". Great Barrington, MA: Orion Society Press.
*Syverson, M. (1999). "The Wealth of reality: An ecology of composition". Carbondale, IL: SIU Press.
*Yagelski, B. (2002). http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/6.2/features/yagelski/