EMPIRICAL ECOCRITICISM is a branch of ecocriticism that focuses on the empirically-grounded study of environmental narrative – in literature, film, television, etc. – and its influence on various audiences. The main objective of empirical ecocriticism is to empirically examine common claims made within ecocriticism, and the environmental humanities more generally, and to generate new questions, theories, and areas of study. Read More.
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Empirical Ecocriticism the Theme of ENSCAN Conference
Empirical ecocriticism featured prominently at this year’s conference of the Ecocritical Network for Scandinavian Studies (ENSCAN), which took place on 13-14 June at the University of Helsinki under the auspices of ENSCAN, the Kone Foundation, the Research Project Literature and Reading in the Era of Climate Crisis, and the University of Helsinki’s Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and…
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Empirical Ecocriticism Edited Volume Published by the University of Minnesota Press
On August 1, the University of Minnesota Press released Empirical Ecocriticism: Environmental Narratives for Social Change, a foundational volume for empirical ecocriticism. It is edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W.P. Malecki and Frank Hakemulder. The book is part manifesto, part toolkit, part proof of concept and part dialogue, containing chapters on the value…
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Special Issue on Empirical Ecocriticism in Finnish Literary Journal
A special issue on empirical ecocriticism is now out in Joutsen / Svanen, a multilingual, peer-reviewed, annual publication on literary and cultural research that focuses on Finnish literature. Co-edited by Toni Lahtinen and Olli Löytty, it was published in Autumn 2022. Since the articles are freely available online, each one can be accessed in English…
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Empirical Ecocriticism Workshop in Utrecht: The magic that happens when people get together and talk
On June 10th 2022, Karin Fikkers and Frank Hakemulder organized a networking workshop on empirical ecocriticism at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Their goal for the networkshop was to stimulate work in empirical ecocriticism by bringing together a select group of international researchers…
Empirical Ecocriticism volume under contract with the University of Minnesota Press
Edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W.P. Malecki and Frank Hakemulder, it will be a foundational volume for the field of empirical ecocriticism.
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On the Recent Emergence of Graduate Work in Empirical Ecocriticism
The field of empirical ecocriticism is gaining traction in graduate programs across the environmental humanities. Recently, two master’s theses have responded to the call to bridge the gap between ecocriticism and the social sciences, presenting new and insightful studies into the impact of climate fiction, both in literature and in film. Crisis, disaster, and dystopia…
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Does Climate Fiction Make a Difference?
Literary Hub has published a new article by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson that considers the potential of climate fiction to both reflect and shape our realities on a rapidly changing planet Entitled “Does Climate Fiction Make A Difference?,” the article argues that climate fiction does in fact have an influence on readers’ understanding of climate change, offering…
Article on the Impact of Narrating Endangered Species Across Media
The journal ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment has published an article entitled “Extinction Stories Matter: The Impact of Narrative Representations of Endangered Species Across Media” by W P Malecki, Alexa Weik von Mossner, Piotr Sorokowski, and Tomasz Frackowiak. The article presents the results of a pioneering experimental study into how extinction stories impact…
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Blog Post on Synergy between the Environmental Humanities and Social Sciences
Seeing the Woods, the blog of The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society, published a post, “Why Ecocriticism Needs the Social Sciences (and Vice Versa).” Written by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W.P. Małecki, and Frank Hakemulder, it argues that more collaboration and synergy between the environmental humanities and social sciences can lead to a better understanding of how compelling narratives are, how they work, and how they affect actual audiences.
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