AlterNative Waterscapes: Indigenous Eco-polyphony in North American and Sinophone Literatures

North American Indigenous and Chinese/Taiwanese Indigenous peoples have long shared an intimate relationship with water. For them, water is not only a commodity or substance for physical survival, it is closely and deeply related with their spiritual lives as well. This research project aims to explore the subtle affinities between East Asian (specifically Sinophone) and North American Indigenous literatures in terms of water philosophies, water pedagogies, and other metaphysical or practical water issues as discussed in water narratives. I argue that in addition to their spiritual and/or philosophical affinities, offer important alternatives to the current dominant exploiting human attitude towards nature and antidotes to modern environmental crises. My research questions how the two distinct cultures have been developing a sense of environmental humanism centered around water issues; what the two cultures share in common in terms of their attitudes and philosophies concerning water and how those ideas differ and vary across time and space; how water permeates through and partly shapes some common characteristics of the two cultures, both philosophically and practically, and how they are concerned with protecting nature in general and water in particular.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jeffrey Brison

Student:

Partner:

University of California, Los Angeles

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Queen's University

Program: