Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy

Analyzes how Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring significantly influenced the Change in Environmental Policy. Historically, when academics talk about attempts to change environmental policy, they primarily focus on the contributions of natural and social scientists who assess the effects of poll...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ravindra Neupane, Vasily V. Verkhoturov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2025-07-01
Series:RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/45339/25162
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849684371452198912
author Ravindra Neupane
Vasily V. Verkhoturov
author_facet Ravindra Neupane
Vasily V. Verkhoturov
author_sort Ravindra Neupane
collection DOAJ
description Analyzes how Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring significantly influenced the Change in Environmental Policy. Historically, when academics talk about attempts to change environmental policy, they primarily focus on the contributions of natural and social scientists who assess the effects of pollution and other harmful factors on the environmental response to the increased use of pesticides in the 1960s, Carson produced her cross-disciplinary book, which combined environmental science and narrative. Silent Spring was able to influence and start changes in the laws governing chemical insect control and the outlawing of the synthetic pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). By challenging the conventional wisdom that viewed man as the master and master of nature, Carson’s book changed policy and inspired new research, demonstrating that the overuse of pesticides is both dangerous and immoral. Her book is considered a founding work of the contemporary environmental movement. The links between science, literature, and public participation that have the potential to increase public understanding of the significance of environmental literature as a tool for influencing environmental policy is the issue this paper has explored in the novel. Applying qualitative research design, this article critically examines and analyzes the environment from a crossdisciplinary approach, using Silent Spring as an exemplary case of a literary text that can affect environmental policy, both in the academic and, more crucially, in real life. Lawrence Buell’s critical insights on the environmental realities that the text portrays serve as a theoretical perspective to analyze the novel.
format Article
id doaj-art-97ebf0c8368140428ee04b418ec9c479
institution DOAJ
issn 2312-9220
2312-9247
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
record_format Article
series RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism
spelling doaj-art-97ebf0c8368140428ee04b418ec9c4792025-08-20T03:23:28ZengPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism2312-92202312-92472025-07-0130229830910.22363/2312-9220-2025-30-2-298-30921131Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental PolicyRavindra Neupane0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9180-9255Vasily V. Verkhoturov1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2979-9867Tribhuvan UniversityKaliningrad State Technical UniversityAnalyzes how Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring significantly influenced the Change in Environmental Policy. Historically, when academics talk about attempts to change environmental policy, they primarily focus on the contributions of natural and social scientists who assess the effects of pollution and other harmful factors on the environmental response to the increased use of pesticides in the 1960s, Carson produced her cross-disciplinary book, which combined environmental science and narrative. Silent Spring was able to influence and start changes in the laws governing chemical insect control and the outlawing of the synthetic pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane). By challenging the conventional wisdom that viewed man as the master and master of nature, Carson’s book changed policy and inspired new research, demonstrating that the overuse of pesticides is both dangerous and immoral. Her book is considered a founding work of the contemporary environmental movement. The links between science, literature, and public participation that have the potential to increase public understanding of the significance of environmental literature as a tool for influencing environmental policy is the issue this paper has explored in the novel. Applying qualitative research design, this article critically examines and analyzes the environment from a crossdisciplinary approach, using Silent Spring as an exemplary case of a literary text that can affect environmental policy, both in the academic and, more crucially, in real life. Lawrence Buell’s critical insights on the environmental realities that the text portrays serve as a theoretical perspective to analyze the novel.https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/45339/25162literaturenovelenvironmentinterdisciplinaryenvironmental policyclimate change
spellingShingle Ravindra Neupane
Vasily V. Verkhoturov
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
RUDN Journal of Studies in Literature and Journalism
literature
novel
environment
interdisciplinary
environmental policy
climate change
title Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
title_full Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
title_fullStr Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
title_full_unstemmed Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
title_short Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring: A Plea for Changing Environmental Policy
title_sort rachel carson s silent spring a plea for changing environmental policy
topic literature
novel
environment
interdisciplinary
environmental policy
climate change
url https://journals.rudn.ru/literary-criticism/article/viewFile/45339/25162
work_keys_str_mv AT ravindraneupane rachelcarsonssilentspringapleaforchangingenvironmentalpolicy
AT vasilyvverkhoturov rachelcarsonssilentspringapleaforchangingenvironmentalpolicy