First Workshop of the Ecocritical Network for Scandinavian Studies (ENSCAN)
Mid Sweden University, Campus Sundsvall, 2-3 December 2016
Perceptions and representations of nature and the environment – e.g. in literature, film, and other forms of cultural expression – are always embedded in specific cultural, social and historical contexts. While many environmental risks and the global environmental change occurring today may be unprecedented in the history of human life on earth, the images and narratives by which humans relate to such phenomena nevertheless build upon and make use of established cultural tropes and narrative models.
The first workshop of the Ecocritical Network for Scandinavian Studies will focus on how specifically Nordic cultural, social and historical contexts influence the construction of images and narratives of nature and the environment. Paper proposals are invited on topics including but not limited to the following (all in relation to Nordic literatures and cultures):
– narratives of dystopian futures and of alternative ‘green’ futures
– climate change narratives and climate change fiction (“cli-fi”)
– narratives of environmental change, environmental risks, and resilience – narratives of environmental pollution and toxicity
– narratives of natural resource use and (un-)sustainability
– the Anthropocene concept and global environmental change
– the relation between specific national (e.g. Swedish) and more broadly Nordic’ narratives of nature and the environment
– the relation between literature, art, and environmental activism
Researchers from all levels of experience (including PhD students) are encouraged to submit a proposal of up to 300 words for a 20 minute paper (followed by a 10 minute discussion) to reinhard.hennig@miun.se by 15 September 2016.
The workshop language will be English. The papers presented at the workshop will be published as part of a peer-reviewed edited volume.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the workshop organizers Reinhard Hennig (reinhard.hennig@miun.se), Anna-Karin Jonasson (anna-karin.jonasson@miun.se), and Peter Degerman (Peter.Degerman@miun.se). Further information can also be found on the following websites:
www.miun.se/hum/nordic-narratives-of-nature-and-the-environment
www.uta.fi/ltl/enscan.html