Narrating climate change as a rite of passage

Menning, Nancy

doi:10.1007/s10584-017-2120-z

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…Carter and van Eck (2014) blame this on the relentlessly global and abstract nature of its sci ence and the lack of clarity regarding local relevance and downward causa tion. They argue that what is needed in addition to robust climate science are powerful narra tives offering not merely effective science but also affec tive relations (see also Menning 2018;Pancost 2017;Nikoleris et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Pasts – Deep Futures A Palaeoenvironmental Humanities Perspective from the Stone Age to the Human Age

Riede

2021

csa

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Coagulating around the powerful notion of the Anthropocene – the proposed geological epoch of the ‘Human Age’ where anthropogenic control of and impact on nature has taken on a magnitude comparable to geological forces – many traditional humanities disciplines are rediscovering the environment as worthy of study. Ranging from eco-criticism to anthropology and history, the environmental humanities are dismantling the founding divisions of academic practice that confine the study of ‘nature’ to the natural sciences and the study of human society, culture, politics and ethics to the social sciences and humanities. Indeed, one of the environmental humanities’ most central contributions has been in addressing the question of ethical involvement when it comes to environmental research that has relevance in contemporary climate change debates. With its long-standing multidisciplinary affiliations and its many outstanding case studies of how the climates of the deep past have affected contemporaneous communities and how these communities have shaped their environs at various scales, archaeology is well positioned to contributing here. Yet, the discipline has so far been marginal in these emerging debates. Drawing on selected examples from the deepest Stone Age to the most recent past, I attempt in this keynote paper to bring together thoughts about the national framing of archaeological practice, archaeological interpretation and heritage management in Europe with preoccupations about past societal collapse under the umbrella of environmental ethical concerns. I argue ultimately that archaeology and archaeologists should involve themselves in environmental debates and in the wider environmental humanities project, but caution that due diligence is needed when operating in such a politically charged debate where personal and political opinions can swiftly overshadow supposedly objective scientific attitudes – and where sceptics stand ready to exploit such bias as well as the uncertainties inherent in archaeological knowledge. Nonetheless, archaeologists can contribute to contemporary climate debates in numerous ways: by writing articles for journals that influence policy-making upstream, through museum practice, and by collaborating with practitioners implementing climate change adaptation measures. I provide brief examples for these avenues and suggest that by re-orientating environmental archaeological engagements in this way, the discipline can gain relevance and recognition, and make a genuine contribution to solving one of our times’ most wicked problems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Pasts – Deep Futures A Palaeoenvironmental Humanities Perspective from the Stone Age to the Human Age

Riede

2021

csa

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Assembling a coalition of climate change narratives on UK climate action: a focus on the city, countryside, community and home

Howarth

Parsons

2021

Climatic Change

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Perceptions of climate change and associated risks are complex and require greater consideration of the context in which behaviours are formed and changed. People tend to create their own stories of climate change providing an opportunity to capture personal experiences and frame solutions accordingly through narratives. Engagement with the issue can be further enhanced when using topics that resonate with individuals, especially through place attachments and local interests. Positioning climate change around communities, cities, homes and the countryside, for example, resonates with certain audiences as action at these scales provides useful narratives through which to engage audiences and increase positive associations with resilient and low-carbon futures. Nevertheless, we show how engagement with these narratives is complex and may overlap or contest in some cases. We present findings from thirty semi-structured interviews conducted with academic, policy and practitioner communities in the United Kingdom (UK) which explored what sub-themes could be utilised to engage audiences on climate change through narratives focused around cities, the countryside, communities and the home. We identify 10 sub-themes ranging from technological change (homes), connecting people (communities), alternative infrastructures (countryside) and positive visions of identity (cities). In search of a coherent coalition of diverse interests in shaping climate change action, we discuss two cross-cutting themes on technology and social norms which emerge strongly across each of the sub-themes.

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Approaching Crisis in a Subjunctive Mode

O’Brien

2021

Worldviews

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An undergraduate course in religion is an ideal place to discuss climate change, and a key task in these classrooms should be teaching students to thoughtfully and critically engage narratives used to make sense of and respond to the issue. Debates about anthropogenic climate change depend upon broad stories about the nature of reality and the place of humans within it; scholars of religion can teach skills of rigorous analysis, thoughtful tolerance, contextual understanding, and critical thinking that will help students grapple with these narratives. Students who are trained to think this way gain skills to respond to the competing facts and despair that can all-too-often make talking and teaching about climate change difficult.

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Narrating climate change as a rite of passage

Cited by 3 publications

References 16 publications

Deep Pasts – Deep Futures A Palaeoenvironmental Humanities Perspective from the Stone Age to the Human Age

Deep Pasts – Deep Futures A Palaeoenvironmental Humanities Perspective from the Stone Age to the Human Age

Assembling a coalition of climate change narratives on UK climate action: a focus on the city, countryside, community and home

Approaching Crisis in a Subjunctive Mode

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