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“Why is it easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism?”

A quote often attributed to Fredric Jameson, who I first encountered in my English 131: Oceanic Humanities course last quarter. It’s not often that English and environmental or oceanic studies intersect so directly, yet that convergence opened up a way of thinking about literature, ecology and capitalism as deeply entangled forces.

Elizabeth DeLoughrey, a professor in both the UCLA English Department and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, taught this course. Her work centers on postcolonial and Indigenous literature, with a particular emphasis on the Caribbean and Pacific Islands, foregrounding the intertwined forces of environmentalism, capitalism, critical ocean studies and the Anthropocene.

Over the course of ten weeks, she introduced a wide range of new concepts and frameworks that challenged conventional ways of thinking, offering a perspective in which literature, ecology and global systems are deeply interconnected terrains of inquiry.

BruinLife’s Edgar Corral had a conversation with Professor DeLoughrey, where they explored key ideas from her work, including the Anthropocene—the era shaped by human impact on the planet—and “The Deep,” a way of understanding the ocean as a site of history, memory and power. For Bruins interested in both postcolonial literature and oceanic studies, these concepts offer compelling ways to rethink how we read literature and engage with the world around us, especially in courses that bring ecology and culture into discussion.

Read the full interview. Photography by Julia Gu/BruinLife.

Related Events

On June 3, a screening of Professor Méndez’s cinematic experience “The Sea Around Us,” depicting the 500,000+ barrels of toxic waste dumped off Catalina Island and intertwining underwater footage, Indigenous songs and poetic storytelling, will take place at 7:30 p.m., with another post-screening conversation with Professor DeLoughrey and Xia afterwards.