Media, film, literature: Ecological explorations in literature, film and art

The course is an introduction to the major issues in ecocriticism and an exploration of the representation of ecological problems in literature, film and media.

Students are introduced to the major problems and standpoints in contemporary ecocriticism. A selection of literary texts and films dealing with ecological issues will be discussed, as well as the influence of ecological thought on the study of media.

Alaimo, Stacy. 2012. ““Sustainable This, Sustainable That: New Materialisms, Posthumanism, and Unknown Futures”.” PMLA 127.3 (2012): 558–564.

Badmington, Neil (2003). “Theorizing Posthumanism” [in:] Cultural Critique 53, 10–27.

Clark, Timothy. 2011.The Cambridge Introduction to Literature and the Environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Joustra, Robert and Alissa Wilkinson (2016). How to Survive the Apocalypse: Zombies, Cylons, Faith, and Politics at the End of the World. Grand Rapdis, MI: William B. Eerdmans.

Moore, Jason W. (2016). “Introduction: Anthropocene or Capitalocene? Nature, History, and the Crisis of Capitalism” [in:] Anthropocene or Capitalocene? Nature, History, and the Crisis of Capitalism. Jason W. Moore (ed.). Oakland: Kairos, 1–11.

Parikka, Jussi. 2015. A Geology of Media. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Steffen, Will, Paul J. Crutzen, and John R. McNeill (2007). “The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature?” [in:] Ambio 36.8, 614–621.

Zapf, Hubert. 2016. Literature as Cultural Ecology. Sustainable Texts. Bloomsbury Academic.

A selection of fiction, film, and music.

Assessment methods:

- presentation W1, U1, U2, K1

- active participation in discussion W1, U1, U2, K1

- essay OR creative work W1, U1, K1

Assessment criteria:

The final mark consists of the assessment of:

- presentation (30% of the final grade) (MS Teams)

- participation (in-class discussion and Moodle assignments) (35% of the final grade) (MS Teams, Moodle)

- essay/creative work (35% of the final grade) (USOS-mail, MS Teams)

fail – 0-59 %

satisfactory – 60-69 %

satisfactory plus – 70-75 %

good – 76-85 %

good plus – 86-90 %

very good – 91-100 %

N/A