Course unit, curriculum year 2023–2024
KIE.KK.367
Cli-Fi: Narrating Climate Change, 5 cr
Tampere University
- Description
- Completion options
Teaching periods
Active in period 1 (1.8.2023–22.10.2023)
Active in period 2 (23.10.2023–31.12.2023)
Course code
KIE.KK.367Language of instruction
EnglishAcademic years
2021–2022, 2022–2023, 2023–2024Level of study
Advanced studiesGrading scale
General scale, 0-5Persons responsible
Responsible teacher:
Anna-Tina JedeleResponsible organisation
Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences 100 %
Common learning outcomes
Sustainable development
Sustainable development goals
Goal 13: Climate Action
In this course we will discuss how climate
change is imagined in contemporary literature. Climate change is a complex
issue with vast spatial and temporal dimensions, which begs the question: How
do we imagine such an abstract issue? What narratives can convey the reality of
the climate emergency? Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh has claimed that “the
climate crisis is also a crisis of culture, and thus of the imagination” (The
Great Derangement 2016: 9) and even suggested that the very form of the
novel might not be suitable to tell climate change stories. This latter claim
has been contested by literary scholars and writers alike. While the rise of
the ‘cli-fi’ genre over the last few years has produced many novels that
explicitly address the climate emergency, Ghosh’s claim of a ‘crisis of the
imagination’ nevertheless resonates since cli-fi novels tend to highlight
certain environmental concerns, protagonists, and places over others. This
course will thus not only examine the representational challenges that such an
elusive ‘hyperobject’ (Timothy Morton) presents for literature and analyze
different narrative techniques and generic conventions of the cli-fi genre, but
we will also consider a variety of themes related to how we imagine climate
change in cultural texts: Firstly, we will investigate how political and
economic systems shape ideas and stories about sustainable futures. Secondly,
we will analyze how the cultural imaginary of the climate emergency is
continuously contested and reshaped through voices that emphasize
intersectional issues of the climate justice (race, class, gender etc.).
Finally, we will also look at the emotional themes present in these cli-fi
texts and discuss how different emotional responses to climate change (e.g.,
denial, grief, anxiety, or laughter) are part of the genre. While this course
will focus primarily on narrative fiction, we will work with a variety of
texts, including short stories, poetry, and film.
Learning outcomes
Studies that include this course
Completion option 1
Participation in teaching
30.08.2023 – 10.12.2023
Active in period 1 (1.8.2023–22.10.2023)
Active in period 2 (23.10.2023–31.12.2023)