Professor
Place
Campus Kristiansand
Registration deadline
15. Mar kl 23:59
Contact Person
Ph.d. course: LIT606 Ecocritical Theory: Literature, Culture and Environment
Place
Campus Kristiansand
Registration deadline
15 Mar
Contact Person
Ecocriticism, that is, research focusing on the relation between literature, culture, and the environment, is a rapidly growing field both internationally and within Norway. As an environmental humanities discipline, ecocriticism contributes to interdisciplinary environmental research from the perspective of literary and cultural studies.
Ecocriticism is, however, a very diverse field that draws upon theoretical approaches from many different directions. This course will introduce participants to a variety of theories that relate nature and the environment to literature and culture and ask how these theories can be utilized for ecocritical research. The lectures included in the course will both provide a general overview of ecocritical theory and insights into many of the most recent developments within ecocriticism, such as cognitive econarratology, empirical ecocriticism, theories of risk and resilience in the study of environmental narrative, environmental justice and postcolonial ecocriticism, material ecocriticism and critical plant studies, as well as ecocritical pedagogy and literature education. The course also includes a discussion of the place of ecocriticism within the environmental humanities and of how multi-, inter-, or transdisciplinary ecocritical research can – or should – be.
The thematic course lectures will be held by internationally established researchers in ecocriticism and related fields. The course will generally have a strong focus on the combination of ecocritical theory and practice, and thus on the applicability of the theoretical approaches presented and discussed to the practical analysis of literary and filmic texts and genres. It will also provide a platform for participants to discuss and receive feedback on the theoretical aspects of their own projects.
Course content, admission and learning outcomes
Lecturers
- Alexa Weik von Mossner is associate professor of American Studies at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria.
- Hanna Straß-Senol is director of environmental humanities development at the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society at the University of Munich, Germany.
- Heather Sullivan is professor of German and Comparative Literature at Trinity University, USA.
- Per Esben Myren-Svelstad is associate professor of Norwegian at NTNU, Norway.
- Reinhard Hennig (course leader) is professor of Nordic literature at the University of Agder, Norway.
- Sylvia Mayer is professor of American Studies at the University of Bayreuth, Germany.
Admission
The course awards 5 ECTS and is offered in cooperation by the PhD specialization in literary studies at the University of Agder and the Norwegian Researcher School in Environmental Humanities (NoRS-EH). The maximum number of participants is 20, and priority will be given to students who are members of the PhD specialization in literary studies at the University of Agder or of NoRS-EH. However, also students from both within and outside Norway who are not members of the PhD specialization or of NoRS-EH, but who are working on relevant projects within ecocriticism/the environmental humanities, are encouraged to apply.
The four-day course will be held on the campus of the University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway. There is no course fee, but students who are not members of NoRS-EH will need to cover their own costs for travel and accommodation.
Recommended previous knowledge
It is recommended that participants before the start of the course have acquired basic knowledge of ecocriticism as a field of research (through, for example, having read one of the standard introductions into the field, such as Greg Garrard: Ecocriticism, 2nd ed., London/New York: Routledge 2012).
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the students will both have gained a general overview of ecocritical theory, and advanced knowledge of the specific approaches addressed in the course. The students will know how to apply these approaches in the analysis of literary and filmic texts and genres, and they will know how to situate their own work-in-progress in relation to ecocritical theory.
Teaching methods
The course will consist of lectures with following discussions, as well as presentations and discussion of theory-related aspects in students’ own projects. The participants will read a selection of theoretical texts in advance of the course, which will both prepare them for the thematic lectures and serve as an additional basis of discussion.
Examination requirement
The course will award 5 ECTS for registrants who read the required literature prior to the course, participate in all lectures, and do a presentation of theory-related aspects in their own research project. It is also expected from participants that they participate actively in the discussion of lectures and of the other participants’ projects.
Assessment methods and criteria
Assessment of whether participants have achieved the learning outcomes of the course will be based on the oral presentations described above (“examination requirement”). In the case of candidates who are in a very early stage of their projects, a written assignment can be used as an alternative assessment method.
Preliminary Schedule
Tuesday, 13 June 2023
Room: TBA
09:15–10:00 Welcome and introduction (Reinhard Hennig)
10:00–10:15 Short break
10:15–11:00 Alexa Weik von Mossner: From Cognitive Econarratology to Empirical Ecocriticism: Exploring Empathy and Emotion in Environmental Narrative
11:00–11:15 Short break
11:15–11:45 Discussion
11:45–12:45 Lunch break (student cantine)
12:45–13:45 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
13:45–14:00 Short break
14:00–14:45 Sylvia Mayer: Risk and Resilience Theory and the Poetics of Environmental Narratives
14:45–15:00 Short break
15:00–15:30 Discussion
Optional: Walk to the restaurant via the Botanical Garden and manor house Gimle gård (ca. 3 km)
17:00–19:00 Dinner (at TilStede mat og mer, Markens gate 29)
Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Room: TBA
09:15–10:00 Hanna Straß-Senol: Environmental Justice and Postcolonial Ecocriticism
10:00–10:15 Short break
10:15–10:45 Discussion
10:45–11:00 Short break
11:00–12:00 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
12:00–13:00 Lunch break (student cantine)
13:00–14:30 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
14:30–15:00 Break
15:00–16:00 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
16:00 End of day 2 – free time to explore Kristiansand and its surroundings
Thursday, 15 June 2023
Room: TBA
09:15–10:00 Heather Sullivan: Material Ecocriticism and Critical Plant Studies
10:00–10:15 Short break
10:15–10:45 Discussion
10:45–11:00 Short break
11:00–12:00 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
12:15–13:00 Lunch break (student cantine)
13:00–16:00 «Place-based ecocriticism»: Literary walk through parts of Kristiansand, ending in 19th century Romantic park Ravnedalen
Friday, 16 June 2023
Room: TBA
09:15–10:00 Per Esben Myren-Svelstad: Literature Education as Sustainable Development: Ecocriticism and Unpredictability in the Literary Classroom
10:00–10:15 Short break
10:15–10:45 Discussion
10:45–11:00 Short break
11:00–12:00 Presentation and discussion of students’ projects
12:00–13:00 Lunch break (student cantine)
13:00–14:30 Environmental Humanities: How interdisciplinary can and should ecocriticism be? Discussion with Alexa Weik von Mossner, Hanna Straß-Senol, Heather Sullivan, Per Esben Myren-Svelstad, and Sylvia Mayer
14:30 Concluding remarks and farewell