Workshop for PhDs & Advanced Master Students: "Affect, Emotion, & the Imagination of Climate Change"

Prof. Dr. Alexa Weik von Mossner (University of Klagenfurt, Austria)

December 10, 2021, 14:00-16:00 c.t. CET

It has become a critical commonplace that climate change narratives in literature, film, and other media present dystopian 'gloom and doom' scenarios that are spectacular but mostly incorrect and ultimately unhelpful. Some critics fear that such dark visions might prove detrimental to our capacity to properly address the issue, because people end up disengaging from it entirely. This workshop will dig deeper into these concerns first by exploring some of the emotions and critical responses cued by dystopian depictions of climate doom and disaster in both fiction and nonfiction climate narratives.

The second part turns to a selection of cultural texts that have tried an entirely different affective approach by presenting possible solutions to the climate crisis along with desirable ecotopian futures in a mode that is often humorous, witty, and uplifting.

Both narrative strategies have their place in climate change literature and film, and both can be effective with some audiences.

Please register via eh@uni-wuerzburg.de. The readings and the Zoom link will be sent to you after registration.