32110

SoSe 20: Narrative, Ecology, and the Anthropocene

Alexander Starre

Kommentar

ONLINE COURSE ----- This seminar surveys the history of ecological thinking in American culture and addresses the aesthetic and ideological functions of “nature” in literature and visual culture, especially film. Based on a capacious understanding of ecology as a mode of describing the interdependence and interaction of living organisms (including humans) and their environment, we will investigate influential works by American writers and artists—some historical, most from the contemporary era. Readings include texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, Leslie Marmon Silko, Octavia Butler, Tomy Pico, and Richard Powers along recent films from the emerging genre of “cli-fi” such as Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), Snowpiercer (2013), and Interstellar (2014). ------ Beyond these readings, the course serves as an introduction to the burgeoning field of environmental humanities and to diverse figurations of ecology and the Anthropocene in other domains of cultural theory. By thinking through the aesthetic challenges of going beyond the ideological divide between nature and culture, we will attempt to explore how narrative—and especially narrative form—can help us reimagine human subjectivities, temporalities, and spatialities in the precarious environments of the Anthropocene. Overall, the course seeks to identify modes of analysis and critique that American Studies can contribute to current debates on sustainability, climate change, and environmentalism. Schließen

13 Termine

Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung

Mi, 10:00 - 12:00 13 Termine

Mi, 22.04.2020 10:00 - 12:00

Dozenten:
Dr. Alexander Starre