Afterword: Reckoning with Irreversibilities in Biotic and Political Ecologies

In this Afterword to ARIEL’s special issue on postcolonial ecocriticism, Estok notes that among the reasons for the enduring effects of colonialism is the irreversible nature of so much of the social and environmental changes and damages it brought. Estok shows that reckoning with the environmental and social effects of colonialism means engaging in a long and slow task but with an imperative for urgency. Such reckoning must (as one of the main purposes of this special issue claims) continue discussions of the Global South in postcolonial ecocriticism, and it must do so in ways that are more inclusive of local manifestations, such as the North/South chasm within North America. Such reckoning acknowledges that there is profound importance (as the contributors maintain) in discussing official histories through personal ones, in working with less familiar works and experimental writings, and in considering alternative methodologies and subject matter. Such attention will open postcolonial ecocriticism to genres and forms that perhaps would not get the attention they deserve otherwise. This work will widen the field of enquiry for postcolonial ecocriticism.