Ecoliteracy and the trouble with reading: ecoliteracy considered in terms of Goethe’s ‘delicate empiricism’ and the potential for reading in the book of nature

Abstract

This article has its roots in both literacy studies and environmental education. Beginning with a critical consideration of what it might mean to be ‘literate’ I argue that a re-evaluation of what it means to be ecoliterate is in order. I challenge current articulations of ecoliteracy, both in their relation to foundational literacy practices (such as reading and writing) as well as in how ecoliteracy has tended to be ‘bounded’ by the science of ecology. Wedding ‘ecoliteracy’ to ecological science restricts its potential—I argue—to be realized as a bone fide literacy practice. Historically the concept ‘reading in the book of nature’ had greater currency than it does today, evident in—for instance—the work of J.W. Goethe. Goethe’s ‘delicate empiricism’ and his attention to the cultivation of ‘exact sensorial imagination’ warrant greater attention where ecoliteracy is being discussed.

Keywords:

• Ecoliteracy
• reading
• environmental education
• meaning
• literacies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Jonathan M. Code is the Director of Crossfields Institute International (CII), a lecturer on CII’s HE programmes and a workshop leader on a range of CII short courses. Jonathan has a deep interest in consciousness studies, the western esoteric tradition, holistic and natural sciences, gardening, and education. He is currently enrolled as a doctoral student with the University of Bath in the Department of Education. Jonathan’s book Muck and Mind; Encountering Biodynamic Agriculture (2014) is published and distributed by Lindisfarne/Floris books.