Date

October 26, 2022

Time

3:00 pm

Location

RW 432

An Interdisciplinary Exchange between EEB Professor Shelby Riskin and ProfessorMarco Caracciolo, English and Literary Theory, University of Ghent

Host: D. Newman, English, U of T

Register here

This colloquium brings together a literary critic, Marco Caracciolo, and an ecologist, Shelby Riskin, to speak on the challenges and promise of communicating the urgency of ecological catastrophe. The two 15 minute talks will be followed by a brief response by Shannon Lambert and up to an hour of Q&A and discussion with attendees. 

Introductory Remarks
Daniel Aureliano Newman (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, English, University of Toronto)

Climate Change Allegories: Blending Hope and Concern Through Storytelling. Marco Caracciolo (Associate Professor, English and Literary Studies, University of Ghent)

Taking its cue from Adam McKay’s satirical film Don’t Look Up (2021) and Richard Flanagan’s novel The Living Sea of Waking Dreams (2020), this talk examines the challenges involved in narrativizing the climate crisis in both fiction and scientific practices. While science communication favors simple stories and easy-to-digest messages, fiction presents readers with complex situations that might be unsuitable in a didactic context. What is the common ground between these ways of thinking about storytelling in relation to the ecological crisis? Keeping in mind the argument that the best response to environmental issues might be a blend of hope and concern (Marlon et al. 2019), I argue that the affective complexity of fictional narrative may provide inspiration for further interdisciplinary dialogue.

Acting on Behalf of Biodiversity: Does Messaging Matter in Shaping Behaviour? Shelby Riskin (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto)

We stand at the threshold of many environmental tipping points, perhaps most notably those of climate change and biodiversity loss. Solving either crisis requires support from the public, but support for action to prevent ecological catastrophe has become increasingly political and polarized. In this talk, I will discuss experiments that assess the role of messaging tone (positive or negative) and attribution of responsibility (individual or institutional) in comparison to the role of environmental values in shaping responses to endangered species messaging.

Response by Shannon Lambert (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Ghent)

Followed by a Q&A and Discussion