RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TRACING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: AN ECO-CRITICAL STUDY

OF CAMP ZERO BY MICHELLE MIN STERLING

Supervised by:
Sir Sajid Ali

Student name:
Maria Mazhar

Roll No: 50

Institute of southern Punjab Multan

Abstract:
Environmental concerns is a wide reaching problem and it is likely to influence the health of
human population on the great extent. This paper provide the environmental concerns and
its insight view about the effects of environmental pollutions in the perspective of air
pollutions, water and land pollution on human and disease and problem. This study finds to
aims all the eco-critical issues in which all the environmental literary criticism is being
studied by the book of Michelle Min Sterling which is Camp Zero . In it dimensions of human
conditions like migration,burden of past,gender inequality and self creation is being studied.
Michelle Min Sterling ‘s examination of Camp Zero provides environmental impact which is
valuable in ways that human activity can both preserve and harm natural activity.

Key words:
Environmental destruction, climate change, depletion of valuable natural resources and
exploitive technologies .

Introduction:
The environment refers to the physical and biological components of the earth and their
interactions, including the air, water ad living organisms as well as human activities and their
impact on the natural world. The environment is essential for the survival and well-being of
all living things. Environmental destruction like pollution have a major negative impact on
human health, wildlife, and ecosystems. In this research paper some major aspects of
environmental concerns are disclosed with the reference of eco-criticism. Eco-criticism is
defined as the study of relationship between literature culture and environment. It is an
interdisciplinary field that combines insights from the literary and cultural studies, ecology,
and environmental science. The term “Eco criticism” was coined by William Ruecrket in his
essay Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Eco criticism in 1978.

Camp Zero is a dystopian climate science fiction novel written by Michelle Min Sterlling. She
teaches literature and writing at Berklee College of Music. Camp Zero is her first novel which
is published on 30 March 2023.Camp Zero is a sample of hope. There is Rose who has come
to the camp as a sex worker in the camp to create a better future for her mother. There is
Grant, an idealistic university graduate, who travels to camp zero to work at the university
Mayer is creating. All the novel is about fallen world: as I read, its 2049 and the world has
heated to the perilous degree. Fossil fuels are outlawed and the wealthy lives in floating
cities, moored offshore, while the rest struggle for survival. It’s a bleak portrait of a world,
fewer than three decades away. This research will focus on how environmental change
affect all living organism.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
In this study Michelle Min sterling s novel Camp Zero will be analyzed by the perspective of
Eco critical theory. It will explore the aspects of environmental change and it’s effect on the
all living organisms .It is by analyzing the character of Rose her mother and Grant and
Mayer. It also describes how elite class can go to the shore and live happily and bourgeoisie
class effect by the climate change.

Research Objectives:
The objectives of the study as followings in Camp Zero by Michelle Min sterling;

1. To highlights the elements of pollution which causes the environmental destruction.

2. To determine the climate change and dangers of world which is being owned by men
.
3. To elaborate the the problem faced by human like depletion of valuable natural
resources sand exploitive technologies.

Research Question:
This study will try to find out the ecocritical issues in following questions:

1. Which elements of pollution cause environmental destruction in novel camp zero?

2. How climate change is hazardous for world which is being caused by man describe
in novel camp zero?
3. What are the problem faced by human like depletion of valuable natural resources
and exploitive technologies in novel Camp Zero?

Literature Review:
Holdgate(1979) in his book A Perspective of environmental pollution describes that living
systems are in state of continuing interaction and change. Stability, far from being the
expected manifestation of some ideal balance of nature, is an anomaly in most
environmental system. Organism and ecosystems are continually adjusting to external,
interacting, physical, chemical and biological factors. Reddy (2017) in his research journal
Environmental pollution and consequences elaborates that Man is causing all round damage
to atmosphere ,water ,land, to the various elements of environment and the ecosystem
itself. The destruction of ozone layer and the further warming of earth threaten catastrophic
consequence such as eruption of cancerous and tropical disease, rising of sea levels,
submersion of many islands, flooding in many low lying coastal areas ad harvest loss. The
synoptic view of whole scenario is that atmosphere on regional and global scale is polluted.

David (2003)in his article Environmental pollution and the global burden of disease in which
he evaluate that exposure to environmental pollution remain a major source of health risk
throughout the world, though risk are higher in developing countries. Richard and Sammells
(1998)writing the environment: Eco criticism and literature this book draws the rich variety
of environmentalist position, from ecofeminism to deep ecology . ]Jelica(2006) in journal
Eco criticism-interdisciplinary study of literature and environment describes the term Eco
criticism which is concerned with the relationship between literature and environment and
it is an interdisciplinary study.

Vathana(2015) in her journal of English language and literature describes the roots of eco
criticism in which she emphasis that it talks about the harmony of humanity and nature and
also talks about how nature changes by man of modern world and it causes
destruction .Hunter, Luna, Norton(2015) in their article of Environmental dimension of
migration describes that the research on the environmental dimensions of human migration
has made important strides in recent years. Susana B(2010) in environmental migration and
cities in the context of global environmental change: defines the term environmental
migrants as “the persons or group of persons who, for compelling reasons for sudden
changes in the environment that adversely affect their lives are obliged to leave their
habitual homes and move to the countryside. Dominic(1998) problems in ecocriticism and
novel describes the potential difference of ecocriticism in which comparison of eccriticism is
done with postcolonialist criticism.

Theoretical Framework:
The perspective of my study is to draw upon the notion of environmental destruction,
climate change as a type of ecocriticism as eco socialist in which wealthier people escape air
pollution and poor people need to experience global warming, depletion of natural
resources like forest depletion, mineral and gas are also the part of eocriticism which is man
versus nature and exploitive technologies which are big theme of the novel camp zero. The
research will be conducted using qualitative research design, which involve a complete
analysis of the novel Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterlling. The data will be collected through
a close reading of the novel, themes and the issues which are being elaborated in the novel.
The research will draw on the theory of Eco criticism in which all the environmental
destruction which is caused by man and its consequences in which all human being suffered
potryed in novel camp zero.

Adeline(2016) in climate change in literature and literary studies describe ecocritical analysis
in which the themes such as nature as destroyer, nature as cause of suffering ,nature as
mysterious and elusive and nature a feminized are discussed. Elice(2019)the environmental
unconscious in the fiction of Don DeLillo in which white noise ,how was the deeper textures
were and real landscape truly was being desriced in which all of the environmental issues
were described and it is ecocritically been analyzed.
Significance of the study:
Undoubtly , Camp zero is a good literary work which is dystopian climate science fiction
novel. This novel is being praised by many of the other authors as it have climate change,
thrilling endlessly surprising twists and abundant hearts. All the detailed study of this novel
describes all the perspective of ecosystem and its change. This research comments that the
study of the novel include climate change family, greed, misogyny and misandry.

Conclusion:
Environmental issues, migration, pollution, environmental destruction, gender inequality
and self-creation all are the major issues of the society. This research paper finds out all the
aspect by the analysis of the novel Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterlling. All of the findings
will be done by the theory of eco-criticism. It highlights the importance of the theory .
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