Subaltern Ecotheopoetics for a New Planetary Ethics

Journal of Climate Justice
An International Peer-Reviewed Journal in Environmental Science
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026
Pages: 43–56
Online ISSN: 3139-8529

Baiju Markose
Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, USA
Email bmarkose@capital.edu

Received: 28th May 2026
Published: July 2026

Key words

Subaltern Ecotheopoetics, Planetary Ethics, Critical Liminality, Emplaced Subjectivity, Anthropocene.

Abstract

This article explores a post-anthropic planetary ethics formulated through the paradigm of subaltern ecotheopoetics, centering the embodied ecological wisdom of marginalized communities. Investigating the intersections of societal exclusion and environmental crisis within the Anthropocene, the study introduces “critical liminality” as a deliberate posture of resistance and a creative site for subjectivity formation. By moving beyond rigid binary frameworks, an ecotheopoetic lens invites an interpretive strategy that begins from the middle of overlapping human and nonhuman multiplicities. Drawing on ornitheological symbolism, Karen Barad’s agential realism, and Donna Haraway’s “staying with the trouble,” the article grounded its ethical framework in two subaltern case studies: the fugitive vernacular practice of Pārppu from Dalit Christian micronarrative and the “arboreal activism” of mangrove conservationist Kallen Pokkudan. These narratives dismantle the hierarchical, graded ontologies constructed by exploitative socio-economic systems and caste-stigmatized environments. Ultimately, the paper proposes a new cartography for global ecological engagement based on an emplacement ethics. This framework positions human subjectivity as relationally integrated within a shared plane of immanence, advocating for a sustainable future driven by deep solidarity, distributed agency, and zoe-centered egalitarianism.