Apocalypse and Ecotopia: Narratives in Global Climate Change Discourse

Abstract

In this essay I analyze two dominate narratives in climate change discourse, which I label "the lifeboat" and "the collective," and trace the eugenic and utopian sources of these imaginaries in speculative fiction. Both of these narratives rely on what Ursula Heise has described as a mutually constituting relationship between apocalyptic and pastoral genres. The conjunction of lifeboat and apocalyptic narratives leads to the exclusion of corporeal differences, while the collective runs the risk of nostalgia. I argue that speculative fiction reveals that allegedly maladaptive characteristics can become the key to the creation of new modes of thinking about climate change.

Publisher

University at New Orleans, Sociology Department

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Publication Title

Race, Gender & Class

Department

Environmental Studies

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Climate change, Narrative, Disability

Language

English

Format

text

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