In his nonfiction book The Great Derangement (2016), Amitav Ghosh observes that “events triggered by climate change… are the mysterious work of our own hands returning to haunt us in unthinkable shapes and forms.” Here, he refers to human-made catalysts—such as plastics, garbage, and chemicals—that are gradually forcing humanity to the margins. This paper examines how blue humanities addresses the epoch of Anthropogenic activities where the apocalyptic garbage, a non-living material entity, has become uncanny and untameable, operating and exercising its power as portrayed in Latitudes of Longing (2018) and Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink (2023). By integrating insights from limnology and environmental humanities, the field of blue humanities critically explores the planet’s troubled freshwater through diverse sociocultural, literary, theoretical, aesthetic, and historical lenses. Plastics—the major contributor to garbage—have become "hyperobjects", which are massively distributed not only in terrestrial space but also in oceanic space, making them a living governing entity (Morton 130). The plastic thrown into the water bodies, re-turn itself into a complex substance rather than return or change like other fossil fuels. This process of re-turn has intrinsically amalgamated rock and plastic into plastic rock, what Ranjan Ghosh called “plastiglomerates” (Ghosh 10). Blue humanities, with its focus on the cultural and ecological significance of water, aligns with plastic theory’s emphasis on the malleability and transformative potential of cultural forms. The rising levels of microplastics in water bodies are contributing to the formation of a "plastic ocean", which is choking the geo-respiration.

Authors:
Shahrukh Khan, The English and Foreign Languages University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Shahrukh Khan is a doctoral scholar at English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India. He has pursued his M.Phil. from Mahatma Gandhi Central University, India. His research interests include blue humanities in South Asian literature.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/srkcool24u/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shahrukh-Khan-56?ev=hdr_xprf

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

Bookmark