Introduction. Narratives for Ecological and Sustainable Transition(s): Transdisciplinary Approaches
Introduction. Narratives for Ecological and Sustainable Transition(s): Transdisciplinary Approaches

Summary/Abstract: We are living in a paradoxical moment in time. On one hand, public discourse around environmental emergencies has never been more widespread. Terms such as sustainability, green transition, and ecological awareness now circulate widely in classrooms, policy documents, media campaigns, and cultural production more generally. In academic contexts, literary and cultural studies, too, have increasingly responded to ecological urgencies by developing new vocabularies and frameworks for approaching narrative. And yet, the gap between this growing attention to climate change – within and beyond academia – and the material conditions it aims to confront has never appeared more visible, raising doubts about the efficacy and reach of the present-day environmental discourse. At the same time, growing societal awareness surrounding the necessity for environmental action seems to have only a limited influence on grander stakeholders, such as industries and policymakers. This is evidenced by the growing impact of glocal manifestations of climate crises in the places we (all) live in, all over the world: extreme weather events, mass displacement, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity. And this gap between knowledge and action, between awareness and engagement, raises pressing questions: What strategies are available to bridge this divide, both for individuals and communities? And in the specific context of literary and cultural studies: What can cultural texts do – not only in representing a crisis, but in imagining functions and possible responses to it? Might narratives – whether in literature, media, and art – prompt shifts in thought, emotion, and behavior?

• Details
• Contents