Grieving a Silent Spring

Presentation for ENGL 5V78 on 21 January 2026

Abstract   

This presentation examines Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking 1962 work Silent Spring within its social, political, and cultural context. Drawing on Marland (2013), I will consider Silent Spring’s connections to ecofeminist theories. I will introduce Butler’s (2016) concepts of framing and grievability to explore how Carson uses Kramer’s (1995) rules of literary journalism to frame environmental issues. Finally, I will bring in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) as an Indigenous comparator to Silent Spring to consider how Indigenous methodologies might inform ecocriticism in literary journalism.

Downloads

Optional Supplementary Readings

Kramer, Mark. “Breakable Rules for Literary Journalists.” Nieman Storyboard, Jan. 1995, https://niemanstoryboard.org/1995/01/01/breakable-rules-for-literary-journalists/.

Marland, Pippa. “Ecocriticism.” Literature Compass, vol. 10/11, 2013, pp. 846–68, https://doi.org/10.111/lic3.12105.

“Legacy of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring National Historic Chemical Landmark.” American Chemical Society, https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-carson-silent-spring.html. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

McKie, Robin. “Rachel Carson and the Legacy of Silent Spring.” The Guardian, 26 May 2012. Science. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/27/rachel-carson-silent-spring-anniversary.

“The Legacy of Rachel Carson.” Silent Spring Institute, https://silentspring.org/about-us/our-story/legacy-rachel-carson-0. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed, 2013. (Library ebook: https://ocul-bu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_BU/hngtcg/alma991009127498905152 )

Works Cited

Butler, Judith. Frames of War: When Is Life Grievable? Verso, 2016.

Carson, Rachel. “Address to the Women’s National Press Club – Dec. 5, 1962.” Archives of Women’s Political Communication, https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2018/01/08/address-to-the-womens-national-press-club-dec-4-1962. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.

———. Silent Spring. Mariner, 1962.

Gaard, Greta, and Lori Gruen. “Ecofeminism: Toward Global Justice and Planetary Health.” The Portable Feminist Reader, edited by Roxane Gay, Penguin, 2025, pp. 531–36.

Humke, Matt. “Thanksgiving Address.” Experience Akwesasne, 20 Aug. 2021, https://akwesasne.travel/our-stories/thanksgiving-address.

Krawec, Patty. Becoming Kin. Broadleaf Books, 2022.

Lear, Linda. “Introduction.” Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, Mariner, 2002, pp. x–xix.

———. Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature. Henry Holt, 1997.

———. “The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson.” Rachel Carson, https://www.rachelcarson.org. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

McKie, Robin. “Rachel Carson and the Legacy of Silent Spring.” The Guardian, 26 May 2012. Science. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/may/27/rachel-carson-silent-spring-anniversary.

“Water Carriers Initiative- Indigenous Water Governance at NWAC.” NWAC, 28 June 2025, https://nwac.ca/academics-policy/policy-development/environment/water-carriers.

Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed, 2013, https://ocul-bu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_BU/hngtcg/alma991009127498905152.

Wilson, Edward O. “Afterword.” Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, Mariner, 2002, pp. 357–63.