Call for papers
"Green Tagore: Culture, Environment and Sustainability".
The Department of English, Jadavpur University invites submissions for a special issue of Essays and Studies titled Green Shoots:  Tagore's Varied Ecological Legacies. This volume seeks  to re-examine Rabindranath Tagore's ecological perspective as a lens for confronting the pressing challenges of our time,  related to the ecological overshoot  in the anthropocene, driven by the capital-intensive resource extraction.   In Tagore, nature is portrayed not as a hostile or even an indifferent force, which is to be subdued and tamed  —a common theme in much of Western thought—but as a nurturing and essential part of human existence and prosperity-  the idea of Lakshmi, as opposed to that of Kuvera, to use Tagore's own metaphor. His writings, particularly in the aftermath of the First World War, explore the consequences of human exploitation of nature, including deforestation, industrialization, and environmental degradation.
For example, his 1922 play Muktadhārā has been interpreted as a response to the construction of the Mulshi Dam by the Tata Group and the subsequent Gandhian protests. Scholars such as Aseem Srivastava have noted the play's significance as one of the first works in Indian literature to connect human solidarity with environmental responsibility.  Historical events such as these underscore how Tagore’s concerns foreshadow what we now call "environmental justice," placing him at the crossroads of ecology, ethics, and the concept of the nation.
In an era of accelerating climate change, Tagore's ideas strike us as being visionary.  Vulnerable populations in the Global South continue to bear a disproportionate burden, as agrarian communities face the threat of crop failure, rising sea levels and even extinction of cultures . Meanwhile, wealthy nations and corporations exploit resources at the expense of local and indigenous communities, exacerbating the chasm between rich and poor. These conditions call for new allegories of the Nation and fresh ways of articulating solidarity in the Anthropocene. The paradox of the Anthropocene lies in its dual nature: while defined by unprecedented technological progress and globalization, this epoch also generates environmental crises that threaten the very foundations of our civilization. Against this backdrop, Tagore’s philosophy prompts us to shift from a mindset of domination to stewardship, from extraction to coexistence, and from conventional nationalist development narratives to an ethical, sustainable re-imagination of ecology and citizenship. What might such a reorientation mean for our understanding of the Nation? How might Tagore's vision illuminate the interconnected spheres of ecology, culture, and politics today?
This volume welcomes submissions that critically engage with these questions, exploring Tagore’s ecological insights in dialogue with contemporary discussions on sustainability, environmental justice, and nationhood.
Submissions & Deadlines
Please submit abstracts of no more than 400 words, along with a brief biographical note (80 words) and your contact information, by 10 October 2025. You will be notified of acceptance tentatively by 25 October. Full papers, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 words, will be tentatively due by 30 November. Contributors are asked to follow the Chicago Manual of Style (2016).
Suggested Topics (Not an Exhaustive List):
* Tagore’s ecological philosophy and rural development as models for nation-building.
* Decolonizing ecocritical thought through Tagore.
* Reinterpreting Tagore’s environmental activism in the Anthropocene.
* Sustainability and critiques of neoliberal development in Tagore’s work.
* Eco-justice and environmental activism in contemporary democracies.
* The Santiniketan–Sriniketan paradigm and its lessons for a national re-imagination.
* Ecocritical practice in higher education: moving beyond classrooms and curricula.