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 put to empirical test claims made within ecocriticism, and the environmental humanities more generally, about the impact of environmental narratives. Read More.
NEWS
Article on “The Influence of Climate Fiction” Published by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
Climate fiction—literature explicitly focused on climate change—has exploded over the last decade, and is often assumed to have a positive ecopolitical influence by enabling readers to imagine potential climate futures and persuading them of the gravity and urgency of climate change. Does it succeed?
New Book on Human Minds and Animal Stories by Wojciech Malecki et al.
This is the first book to investigate the power of stories to raise our concern for animals, which has been postulated across decades by numerous scholars, activists, and writers, including such greats as Thomas Hardy.
Call for Papers for “Powerful Literary Fiction Texts” conference in Brighton, June 19-21, 2019
Not only poetry, but also works of fiction include pieces of writing that are prone to provide both emotional and cognitive pleasure because they are made of “language at its most distilled and most powerful” (Rita Dove).
Roundtable on Empirical Ecocriticism at the 2019 ASLE Conference in Davis
This roundtable brings together five experienced ecocritics engaged in research on “empirical ecocriticism” – Wojciech Malecki, Salma Monani, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Scott Slovic, and Alexa Weik von Mossner – for a conversation on the possibilities, limitations, and potential future directions of this subfield.
Empirical Ecocriticism Workshop at the Rachel Carson Center in Munich, December 14-15, 2018
There is a growing understanding across disciplines that narratives are of central importance to our relationships with other humans and nonhumans, as well as the broader environment. However, there is a need for more interdisciplinary cooperation and transdisciplinary convergence in order to explore further, in both the theoretical and the empirical realms, how environmental narratives across various mediums contribute to our understanding of the world around us and our place in it.
Call for Papers for Edited Volume on Empirical Ecocriticism
There is a growing consensus across disciplines that narratives are of central importance to our relationships with other humans and nonhumans as well as the broader environment. However, until recently ecocritics have largely relied upon speculation to assess the critical question of the influence of environmental narratives on their audiences.