Stephanie Posthumus
Associate Professor
stephanie.posthumus [at] mcgill.ca
Constructing an ecological perspective for examining 20th and 21st Century French literary texts has been the main goal of her work since she finished her doctoral thesis in 2003. As Prof.Posthumus argues, ecocriticism, while based on a concern for global environmental problems, is not transferable from one national literature to another. The traditions, philosophies, and representations of the non-human world that influence and are influenced by literature create important cultural differences that do not allow for a global ecocritical perspective. To build a French ecocriticism, she draws on ideas such as l鈥茅肠辞蝉辞辫丑颈别听(F茅lix Guattari), la 苍补迟耻谤别-肠耻濒迟耻谤别听(Bruno Latour), and le contrat naturel (Michel Serres). Her monograph,听French 脡肠辞肠谤颈迟颈辩耻别: Reading Contemporary French Theory and Fiction Ecologically听(2017), as well as many of her articles demonstrate the use of French eco-theory to analyze questions of nature, environment, and landscapes in contemporary French novels.
A second branch of her work looks at representations of animals and plants in contemporary Francophone literature from France and Qu茅bec. Researching different disciplinary work on animals, from philosophy (Jacques Derrida, 脡lisabeth de Fontenay, Dominique Lestel) to ethology (Boris Cyrulnik, Georges Chapouthier), from literary criticism (Lucile Desblache, Anne Simon) to animal ethics (Jean-Baptiste Jeang猫ne Vilmer), Prof. Posthumus aims to define the animal question with respect to the French contemporary context. Her co-edited volume,听French Thinking about Animals听(2015) brings together leading animal studies scholars in the French-speaking world to discuss these questions. Her work in plant studies has emerged more recently in the context of Qu茅b茅cois literature and her own gardening practices. Two recent contributions, Entre les feuilles: Explorations de l'imaginaire botanique contemporain听(2024) and Mouvantes et 茅mouvantes: les plantes 脿 travers le r茅cit (2024), explore the ways in which plants teach us to notice, move and cohabit in their own time and space. The relationships between local, regional, and cultural differences in a global landscape are at the heart of Prof. Posthumus鈥檚 work on ecocriticism,听 animal and plant studies.
In addition, Prof. Posthumus has been leading a research project on the convergences of the digital and the environmental humanities. Awarded a SSHRC Connections grant in 2013, she brought together scholars interested in exploring the ways in which digital technologies can be used to disseminate cutting edge research in the environmental humanities. An integral part of the project, the platform serves three main functions: 1) it acts as a hub for researchers in this emerging field; 2) it provides examples of analytic approaches such as topic modelling and mapping; and 3) it features pedagogical tools (DEH syllabi, guidebook blog entries) and digital exhibits of environmental humanities research in Canada. Working with digital texts and exploring new reading environments, Prof. Posthumus examines the philosophical assumptions upon which the human/machine binary has been built. In this way, she seeks to develop a posthumanist approach to rethinking our relationship to animals, plants, machines, and nature's others.
Monographs
Posthumus, Stephanie, Rachel Bouvet, Jean-Pascal Bilodeau, No茅mie Dub茅. Entre les feuilles: Explorations de l鈥檌maginaire botanique contemporain, Qu茅bec: Presses de l鈥檜niversit茅 du Qu茅bec, 2024.
Posthumus, Stephanie. Greg Garrard, Axel Goodbody, George Handley.Climate Change Scepticism: A Transnational Ecocritical Analysis. Bloomsbury Academic Press: London/NewYork, 2019.
Posthumus, Stephanie. French 脡肠辞肠谤颈迟颈辩耻别: Reading Contemporary French Theory and Fiction Ecologically. Toronto: UP Toronto, 2017.
Posthumus, Stephanie. La Nature et l鈥櫭ヽologie chez Claude L茅vi-Strauss, Michel Serres, Michel Tournier. Saarbruck: 脡ditions universitaires europ茅ennes, 2010.
Edited Volumes and Journal Issues
Posthumus, Stephanie and Rachel Bouvet, eds. 鈥淧lant Studies/脡tudes v茅g茅tales,鈥澨 L鈥橢sprit Cr茅ateur, 60.4 (2020).
Posthumus, Stephanie and Anne-Rachel Hermetet, eds. 鈥淓cological In(ter)ventions in the Francophone World.鈥澨 Ecozon@ 10.2 (2019).
Posthumus, Stephanie and Daniel Finch-Race, eds.听French Ecocriticism: From the Early Modern Period to the Twenty-First Century, Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2017.
Recent Articles and Book Chapters
Posthumus, Stephanie. "Le chant des plantes 脿 travers textes et images,鈥 in Mouvantes et 茅mouvantes: les plantes 脿 travers le r茅cit, eds. Rachel Bouvet and St茅phanie Posthumus. Presses universitaires de Montr茅al, collection 鈥淐avales,鈥 2024. 193-2010.
Posthumus, Stephanie, Rachel Bouvet and Gabriel Gaudette, 鈥淭ransformation, transmission, affranchissement : les nouvelles pratiques agricoles 脿 travers la bande dessin茅e (Davodeau, Lemardel茅, de Francqueville),鈥 Revue des sciences humaines, 349.1 (2023): 135-173.
Posthumus, Stephanie, Yannick Gu茅guen and Rachel Bouvet. 鈥淢茅ta-botanica : r茅flexion autour d鈥檜n art v茅g茅tal audio-tactile,鈥 尝鈥椭苍迟谤别-诲别耻虫. Special issue : 鈥淪ensibilit茅s v茅g茅tales : par-del脿 art et nature.鈥 12.2 (2022): 1-24. Online, open access journal.
Posthumus, Stephanie. 鈥溍塼at pr茅sent : L鈥櫭壋Υ浅Π背倬北绯鼙 est-elle encore possible?鈥 Trans. Jean-Christophe Cavallin. Fabula. Litt茅rature Histoire Th茅orie. Ecopo茅tique pour des temps extr锚mes. Nov. 27 (2021).
Posthumus, Stephanie and Anne Simon. Interview with Lucas Hollister. 鈥淐onversation questions for Profs. Anne Simon and Stephanie Posthumus,鈥 Contemporary French and Francophone Studies. Special Double Issue: Frontiers of Ecocriticism,鈥 25.1 (2021): 16-41.
Posthumus, Stephanie and Anne-Rachel Hermetet. 鈥淩etours du v茅g茅tal dans Herbes et golems de Manuela Draeger (Antoine Volodine) et Ruines-de-Rome de Pierre Senges,鈥 L鈥橢sprit Cr茅ateur 60.4. (2020): 94-106.
Posthumus, Stephanie. 鈥淧osthuman Conjectures: Animal and Ecological Sciences in Marie Darrieussecq鈥檚 Dystopian Fictions,鈥 Dalhousie French Studies. Special issue: Pr茅cisions sur les sciences dans l鈥櫯搖vre de Marie Darrieussecq 115 (2020): 41-54.
Posthumus, Stephanie. 鈥溍塼at pr茅sent : Is 茅cocritique Still Possible?鈥 French Studies, 73.4 (2019): 598-616.
Posthumus, Stephanie. 鈥淓co-Animal Assemblages in French Contemporary Theory,鈥 in Texts, Animals, Environments. Zoopoetics and Environmental Poetics, eds. Sebastian Sch枚nbeck, Frederike Middelhoff, Catrin Gersdorf, Roland Borgards. Frieburg: Rombach Verlag, 2018. 55-70.
Posthumus, Stephanie. Interivew. 鈥淯n contrat mondial longue dur茅e.鈥 Philosophie Magazine. 鈥淟e monde selon Michel Serres,鈥 Hors s茅rie 39. October 2018. 51-4.