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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Do vegan advocacy films work? New reception study puts their transformative potential to the test
A new reception study of the documentary Milked finds that vegan advocacy films can inspire changes in consumption habits, but, in the same breadth, they can also prompt resentment and resistance among certain audiences. The study was conducted by Nicolai Skiveren and draws on the findings from in-depth interviews with 25 people in Aotearoa New…
Empirical Ecocriticism a Finalist for ASLE 2025 Book Award
Empirical Ecocriticism: Environmental Narratives for Social Change (2023), was named a finalist for the ASLE 2025 Ecocritical Book Award, awarded to the best book-length work of scholarly ecocriticism published in the last two years. Congratulations to the editors, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W. P. Malecki and Frank Hakemulder, and to the brilliant contributors:…
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Launch of N.E.S.T. Research Network: A Promising New Avenue for Empirical Ecocriticism
A new and exciting research network, “N.E.S.T – Narratives for Ecological and Sustainable Transitions,” has just launched. Funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), N.E.S.T. unites early-career postdoctoral researchers from various European universities to tackle climate change through powerful storytelling. This initiative has the potential to make…
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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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