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The environment is an urgent topic which is increasingly at the forefront of artistic and literary practice, and of scholarship. In this module, students will examine the role of ecology, environment and politics in a range of artistic forms including literature, film, video and installation, alongside key ecocritical and eco-philosophical readings. We will consider theories and critiques of the Anthropocene and post-anthropocentric literary and visual forms; the representational and aesthetic challenges associated with depicting topics such as climate change; the communities involved in resisting ecological destruction and the use of art for activist purposes; questions of environmental justice and decolonisation. Indicative primary texts include: Ursula Biemann’s ‘Geomorphic Videos’ (2013-2016); Carolina Caycedo’s multimedia work Be Dammed (2015-); Ernesto Cabellos’ Daughter of the Lake (2015); Behn Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012); Pola Oloixarac’s The Dark Constellations (2015) and Ricardo Piglia’s The Way Out (2013). Not all of these will necessarily be studied in any given year.Ìý

The teaching will be divided between Dr Deborah Martin and Dr Emily Baker, who will each teach their research specialisms. The weekly sessions will comprise both teacher-led lecture-style segments and seminar-style discussion, and students will be required to deliver individual presentations. Tutors will also offer individual essay advice.Ìý

Aims of the module:

• To introduce a range of primary texts that engage with environment and ecology;
• To develop a familiarity with a range of theoretical and critical approaches including theories and critiques of the Anthropocene; posthumanist philosophy, ecocriticism;
• To develop a familiarity with the politics of environmental art and literature, and with questions of environmental justice and activism;
• To develop students’ ability to produce theoretically-grounded and critically aware-analyses of primary texts;

On completing the module, students will be able to:

• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key debates surrounding the environment and ecology, and their representation in cultural texts;Ìý
• discuss appropriate theoretical and critical approaches and relate them to primary texts studied; carry out close readings of texts, films and/or artwork studied;Ìý
• develop appropriate research questions about topics of ecology and environment in cultural representationsÌý