Nature as a road to integration? A Saudi experience

Abstract

Well-being through outdoor life and ecolacy are fundamental concepts in sociological research with regard to the question whether nature is instrumental for integration into some Western societies. In this article, we ask if the Saudi Arabian protagonist in Muḥammad Ḥasan ʿAlwān’s novel, al-Qundus, (The Beaver), 2011, becomes a part of, ‘integrated in’, North American society by means of ecolacy. An ecocritical and sociological reading, which takes into account human and non-human communication, shows that the protagonist does not become integrated into the North American society to which he has immigrated by way of his acquired ecolacy. Rather, his steps towards ecolacy seem to lead to self-knowledge and reconciliation with his family members in Riyadh rather than being a conduit to integration.