Norbert H. Platz Norbert H. Platz i(A9515 works by)
Gender: Male
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1 Ecocriticism, Environmental Ethics, and a New Ecological Culture Norbert H. Platz , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: Engaging with Literature of Commitment : The Worldly Scholar (Volume 2) 2012; (p. 63-83) ‘In this essay I wish to offer a tentative programme for the development of fruitful cooperation between ecocriticism and environmental ethics. What could be envisaged as a result of this cooperation would be the idea and ideal of a new ecological culture. To start with, I will submit working definitions of my key terms. While doing this, I would also like to thumbnail the agendas they include. As will become clear, I look at the environment through a dual lens – in the hope that the relationship between these two foci will yield some new insights.’ (Author’s introduction 63)
1 1 The Environmental Ethics of Australian Nature Poems Norbert H. Platz , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australia : Making Space Meaningful 2007; (p. 81-101) ‘The basic contention inspiring this paper is: poets care about Australia’s physical environment and human survival in Australia. Australian literature contains a substantial body of knowledge that could be deployed to constitute the imaginative core of an environmental ethic. Thus a great many Australian literary texts could be studied with the purpose of helping to usher in the desirable concept of an environmentally literate community. The essay is divided into two sections. Section one will provide a brief survey of environmental ethics. This survey is followed by the exposition of six deontic or prescriptive outlines, to be supplemented by some eudaemonic considerations. The latter envisage the notion of the ‘good life,’ in harmony with nature. In section two, important insights furnished by environmental ethics will be used as an orientation towards identifying the environmental concerns shown in a variety of Australian nature poems. Among the authors considered are Bruce Dawe, Dorothy Hewett, John Kinsella, Mark O’Connor, John Shaw Neilson, Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), and last but not least Judith Wright. As will be seen, there are many convergences and correspondences between the basic claims made by environmental ethics, and the environmental insights and experiences that have been accumulated in a noteworthy corpus of Australian nature poems. What is enshrined in these poems is the ‘collective prudence,’ not only of a cultural elite, but also of the modern Everyman.’ (Author’s abstract p.81)
1 Profilierte Vielsitigkeit : Zum achtzigsten Gebertstag des australischen Komponisten George Dreyfus Norbert H. Platz , 2007-2008 single work biography
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Australienstudien , no. 21-22 2007-2008; (p. 243-248)
1 1 Reconciling Humans with Nature through Aesthetic Experience : The Green Dimension in Australian Poetry Norbert H. Platz , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Zeitschrift fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik , vol. 52 no. 3 2004; (p. 258-272) This essay considers how the aesthetic appreciation of nature can enhance environmental bonding and caring, and contribute to engendering a reconciliation of humans with their natural environment. After a brief examination of Judith Wright's view of Australia's ecological predicament, some core constituents of the aesthetic experience of nature will be outlined to serve as a philosophical underpinning of Wright's aesthetico-ethical concept of reconciliation. Major arguments taken from her essays are meant to throw some new light not only on Wright's own poetry but on the reconciliatory character of Australian nature poetry in general. Short analyses of individual poems by John Shaw Neilson, Douglas Stewart, John Blight, Judith Wright and Ruby A. Penna focus on specific themes such as "aesthetic wealth and well-being," "translating nature into a work of art," "science-based aesthetic perception," "the symbolic reversal of human ascendancy," and "exposing ecological damage." In my conclusion, I claim that poets could take a high profile on reconciling humans with nature. Their insights need to be put on the agenda of interventionist action. My specific concern, here, is to consider how an aesthetic appreciation of nature might enhance our practice of bonding with, and caring for, the environment. (Author's abstract)
1 Images of Australia in Australian Poetry Norbert H. Platz , 2004 single work criticism
— Appears in: Postcolonial Subjects : Canadian and Australian Perspectives 2004; (p. 139-156)
1 Greening the New Literatures in English : A Plea for Ecocriticism Norbert H. Platz , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglistentag 1999 Mainz : Proceedings 2000; (p. 313-326)
1 Creating a New Literature for a New Country : Literary Criticism and the Cultural Invention of Australia Norbert H. Platz , 2000 single work criticism
— Appears in: Writing in Australia : Perceptions of Australian Literature in Its Historical and Cultural Context 2000; (p. 153-181)
1 Influence or Choice? Henry Handel Richardson's Maurice Guest and its Relation to German Culture Norbert H. Platz , 1989 single work criticism
— Appears in: Anglistentag 1988 Gottingen : Vortrage 1989; (p. 115-125)
1 The Western Consciousness of Novel Writing and the Image of Australia in Patrick White's Voss Norbert H. Platz , 1984 single work criticism
— Appears in: World Literature Written in English , Summer vol. 24 no. 1 1984; (p. 170-177)

'My contention in this paper is that the meaning of Australia encoded in the novel may be elicited more satisfactorily if our critical reading considers the variety of viewpoints from which Australia is perceived. Furthermore, these viewpoints add up to a distinctly recognizable theme if they are coordinated within one or two more general frames of reference. In my opinion, such frames of reference are provided by the "submerged" novel forms on which Voss is modelled' (170).
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