Week 13 Reflection
Climate Justice, Digital Activism, and Gender, Prof. Frances Roberts-Gregory
By Cormac Madden, 5/1/2019
Week 13's topics were "climate fictions and decolonizing the Anthropocene," which meant that the readings for this week focused on creative interpretations of our climate realities. The introduction to Streeby (2018) details a number of these different interpretations, from Octavia Butler, cli-fi and Snowpiercer to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. She argues that these creative reimaginings of climate change, particularly those by indigenous people and people of color, give significant insights into the climate movements which are currently underway. Gergan et al. (2018) explore three categories of apocalyptic imaginings: "The Great Deluge," "Nuclear Cataclysm" and "The Population Bomb." They argue that each of these tropes arise from contemporary public fears of specific climate threats and that their deployment in our films reveals what fears are prescient in the public consciousness. Importantly, they find that these fears all arise from a common root: the fear of racialized others taking over the planet and the decline of white civilization. On the subject of a much different reimagining, Corbin (2018) writes about the environmentally-just, afro-futurist green or "golden city" of Wakanda in Black Panther and explores the appeal of an African utopian city in our current political moment.
This week's readings also included a number of creative productions. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler tells a post-apocalyptic story of a world where high water prices lead to crime, substance abuse, and death. Rising Currents Stronger Movements features many different narratives, created by young ecofeminists of color from around the world. Hansman (2015) covers a musical composition that is based on real-world temperature data whose continually rising pitch leads to a distressing listening experience. And 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus both produced songs and albums with the intent of spreading awareness of climate change and climate justice.
As a student of literature, fictional interpretations of real-world social problems are fascinating to me. While science fiction may not be my genre of choice, I still appreciated the logic of the post-apocalyptic world that was built in Parable of the Sower and the tremendous pain and apathy that that world was shown to contain, an apathy that was contrasted with our narrator's diagnosed "hyperempathy." I also enjoyed the diversity of approaches that were taken by the young women writing in Rising Currents Stronger Movements, which presented narratives of climate justice in a variety of languages as well as forms. The most affecting of these narratives for me was "When Climate Change Dehumanizes a Young Girl," which details the struggles of a young Malawi girl in the face of the patriarchy and the climate. The narrative, which brings our protagonist to the point of suicide, drives home the real, human, emotional tragedies of our climate disasters and realities.
Key Terms
Anthropocene: The Anthropocene is a term that refers to the period in which humans have reshaped our Earth, affecting every part of its processes and systems.
Green Cities: Cities that are planned with the goal of creating green space, but have a history of being created for privileged, white communities at the expense of others.
Afro-futurism: Artistic movement that combines science fiction and African culture to reimagine colonized spaces and topics.
References
Butler, Octavia. 1993. Parable of the Sower.
Corbin, C. N. E. 2018. "Wakanda! Take the Wheel! Visions of a Black Green City." Planning Theory and Practice.
Gergan, Mabel, Sara Smith, and Pavithra Vasudevan. 2018. "Earth beyond repair: Race and apocalypse in collective imagination." Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.
Hansman, Heather. 2015. "This Song Is Composed From 133 Years of Climate Change Data." Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-song-composed-from-133-years-climate-change-data-180956225/
Hoang, Hong. 2018. "Using music to fight climate change and advocate for renewable future." 350. https://350.org/using-music-to-fight-climate-change-and-advocate-for-renewable-future/
People's Climate Music. "About- People's Climate Music." http://peoplesclimatemusic.com/about-us/
Streeby, Shelley. 2018. Imagining the Future of Climate Change: World-Making through Science Fiction and Activism. Oakland: University of California Press.
Young Feminists for Climate Justice. 2017. Rising Currents Stronger Movements: A Zine.
By Cormac Madden, 5/1/2019
Week 13's topics were "climate fictions and decolonizing the Anthropocene," which meant that the readings for this week focused on creative interpretations of our climate realities. The introduction to Streeby (2018) details a number of these different interpretations, from Octavia Butler, cli-fi and Snowpiercer to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. She argues that these creative reimaginings of climate change, particularly those by indigenous people and people of color, give significant insights into the climate movements which are currently underway. Gergan et al. (2018) explore three categories of apocalyptic imaginings: "The Great Deluge," "Nuclear Cataclysm" and "The Population Bomb." They argue that each of these tropes arise from contemporary public fears of specific climate threats and that their deployment in our films reveals what fears are prescient in the public consciousness. Importantly, they find that these fears all arise from a common root: the fear of racialized others taking over the planet and the decline of white civilization. On the subject of a much different reimagining, Corbin (2018) writes about the environmentally-just, afro-futurist green or "golden city" of Wakanda in Black Panther and explores the appeal of an African utopian city in our current political moment.
This week's readings also included a number of creative productions. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler tells a post-apocalyptic story of a world where high water prices lead to crime, substance abuse, and death. Rising Currents Stronger Movements features many different narratives, created by young ecofeminists of color from around the world. Hansman (2015) covers a musical composition that is based on real-world temperature data whose continually rising pitch leads to a distressing listening experience. And 350.org and the Hip Hop Caucus both produced songs and albums with the intent of spreading awareness of climate change and climate justice.
As a student of literature, fictional interpretations of real-world social problems are fascinating to me. While science fiction may not be my genre of choice, I still appreciated the logic of the post-apocalyptic world that was built in Parable of the Sower and the tremendous pain and apathy that that world was shown to contain, an apathy that was contrasted with our narrator's diagnosed "hyperempathy." I also enjoyed the diversity of approaches that were taken by the young women writing in Rising Currents Stronger Movements, which presented narratives of climate justice in a variety of languages as well as forms. The most affecting of these narratives for me was "When Climate Change Dehumanizes a Young Girl," which details the struggles of a young Malawi girl in the face of the patriarchy and the climate. The narrative, which brings our protagonist to the point of suicide, drives home the real, human, emotional tragedies of our climate disasters and realities.
Key Terms
Anthropocene: The Anthropocene is a term that refers to the period in which humans have reshaped our Earth, affecting every part of its processes and systems.
Green Cities: Cities that are planned with the goal of creating green space, but have a history of being created for privileged, white communities at the expense of others.
Afro-futurism: Artistic movement that combines science fiction and African culture to reimagine colonized spaces and topics.
References
Butler, Octavia. 1993. Parable of the Sower.
Corbin, C. N. E. 2018. "Wakanda! Take the Wheel! Visions of a Black Green City." Planning Theory and Practice.
Gergan, Mabel, Sara Smith, and Pavithra Vasudevan. 2018. "Earth beyond repair: Race and apocalypse in collective imagination." Environment and Planning D: Society and Space.
Hansman, Heather. 2015. "This Song Is Composed From 133 Years of Climate Change Data." Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-song-composed-from-133-years-climate-change-data-180956225/
Hoang, Hong. 2018. "Using music to fight climate change and advocate for renewable future." 350. https://350.org/using-music-to-fight-climate-change-and-advocate-for-renewable-future/
People's Climate Music. "About- People's Climate Music." http://peoplesclimatemusic.com/about-us/
Streeby, Shelley. 2018. Imagining the Future of Climate Change: World-Making through Science Fiction and Activism. Oakland: University of California Press.
Young Feminists for Climate Justice. 2017. Rising Currents Stronger Movements: A Zine.
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