Ecocriticism and the Dilemmas of Postcolonial Modernity in Nigerian Urban Literature

Yajing  Li

doi:10.54691/qms2yf14

Authors

Yajing Li

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/qms2yf14

Keywords:

Nigerian literature; urban ecocriticism; postcolonial modernity; spatial politics; Global South.

Abstract

Since the 1960s, Nigerian urban literature has employed ecological criticism as a methodological lens to reveal the environmental crises and power entanglements in the postcolonial modernization process. This paper analyzes several representative novels, highlighting how they expose the double expropriation of nature and life through colonial planning legacies and oil capitalism. By focusing on spaces such as slums, factories, and markets, these works examine the intersection of environmental degradation and societal power struggles. Additionally, the paper explores how marginalized groups reconstruct ecological ethics through creative practices. This narrative tradition not only challenges the rural-urban binary in ecocriticism but also offers new perspectives for thinking about non-hegemonic modernity in Global South cities.

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