Ecocriticism in Modern Literature: A Humanities Response to the Global Climate Crisis

Abstract

The escalating global climate crisis demonstrates that scientific and technological solutions alone are insufficient to address environmental degradation, as cultural imagination and ethical transformation are equally necessary. In this context, ecocriticism has emerged as a critical framework within literary studies that connects literary texts with ecological awareness and social action. This study aims to analyze how ecocriticism in modern literature functions as an ethical and cultural response to the global climate crisis. This research employed a qualitative design using an ecocritical approach. Data were collected through close reading and document analysis of selected modern literary works and recent peer-reviewed ecocritical scholarship (2022–2025). The analysis involved thematic coding, interpretative textual analysis, and discourse analysis to examine representations of human–nature relationships, climate justice, and ecological resistance. The findings reveal that modern literature challenges anthropocentric paradigms, fosters emotional and moral engagement with ecological trauma, critiques exploitative systems such as industrial capitalism and colonialism, and constructs alternative ecological imaginaries grounded in coexistence and intergenerational responsibility. Ecocriticism also contributes to pedagogical innovation and sustainability advocacy. The study concludes that ecocriticism in modern literature serves as an active humanistic intervention that reshapes climate consciousness and strengthens ethical resistance in response to the global climate crisis.