In this course, we will explore the imbrication of colonialism and environmentalism by focusing on “green” spaces such as plantations; botanical gardens where plants were studied to be mass produced for empire’s profit; and green spaces such as safaris and nature reserves monopolized by the tourism industry and inaccessible to local communities. Conversely we will investigate ecological resistance, such as the Creole gardens historically nurtured by enslaved communities to counter food scarcity on plantations, or the mangrove forests on and around which diasporic communities continue to live and live from. In this literature course, rather than focusing on history, we will look at how, on one hand, green spaces have been transformed into systems of oppression, and on the other, they can be read for alternative forms of knowledge and resistance.
