English Literature: English Literature And Climate Change With Dr Neal Alexander From Aberystwyth University

In this webinar for school/college students and teachers, Dr Neal Alexander from Aberystwyth University will, through discussion exercises and Q&A, explore the following:

• Imagining climate change
• Language and the politics of climate change
• Literature and the Anthropocene
• Causes and effects: some literary examples
• Literature and the non-human

This entertaining yet challenging interactive session aims:

• To enhance students’ awareness of the ways in which literature can influence and direct the ways in which we think and talk about climate change.
• To encourage students to reflect critically upon the dominant vocabularies, images, and metaphors in the media and popular discourse.
• To raise some key ethical, political, and aesthetic questions concerning the representation of climate change, its causes, and its effects.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Neal Alexander

Suitable for: Year 12 and 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, English, English Literature, Creative Writing, Liberal Arts and Humanities. Teachers are also very welcome to join; please feel free to make it a class event.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: No pre-reading is required. Participants might consider the following questions:

• Which literary texts can you think of that engage with topics related to climate change (e.g. fossil fuels, storms, floods, pollution, etc.)?
• Is the language we use to discuss climate change wholly neutral or politically charged?
• How can reading or writing books make any difference to a global climate crisis?

The IT Setup: The event will be run with one, smaller, audience on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and a larger audience, simultaneously, on Facebook Live. The smaller group in the Bluejeans meeting can engage using their microphones to talk directly to the university academics. The Facebook audience has the ability to ask questions and offer thoughts via comments on Facebook. In both cases, participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. The places on Bluejeans are now fully booked but please do join us on Facebook using the link below: