Abstract
The petroculture in most African societies has triggered different criticisms that are either in physical activism, critical or creative writings. In fiction, petrofictions have emerged to challenge the poor petroculture that undermines the interconnectedness between people and their environments. This study establishes the bond between ecology and human consciousness through the identification of ecocatastrophe as a product of African petroculture, thereby prompting a new literary term, “Eco-psychoconsciousness.” Eco-psychoconsciousness portrays the double consciousness of the ecosystem which is projected through the actions of the characters and narrators. Through four (4) African petrofictions - Oil on Water, Yellow Yellow, Transparent City, and How Beautiful We Were, the study comparatively argues that anthropocentric rape of the ecosystem results in narratological construct of temporalities in petrofictions. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to address the petroculture in the purposively texts. While ecocriticism examines the relationship between literature and the environment, psychoanalysis interrogates the minds of fictional characters in processing the sequence of traumatic emotions caused by human and non-human degeneration of the ecosystem, and temporalities which is expressed through narratology investigates the time loci of events that typify the lives of the characters. The study proffers visionary insights that mediate the cultural ambivalence of petrol.
Presenters
Nkiru Doris OnyemachiLecturer, Languages (English and Literary Studies), Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Delta, Nigeria
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Petroculture, Petrofiction, Ecocatastrophe, Africa, Eco-psychoconsiousness
