On Crisis Imaginaries, Ecological Grief and Mourning the More-than-Human

• In the times of climate change and planetary environmental disruption (or crises) that render certain habitats unliveable and contribute to socio-economic inequalities and vulnerabilities, death and loss (or more precisely, more-than-human death and loss) turn into urgent environmental concerns. As climate scientists indicate, in order to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), a much more radical transformative action is needed from governments, the private sector, communities and individuals (Höhne et al. 2020). In fact, after the recent IPCC report one might ask what kind of an understatement that phrasing is. Simultaneously, unsustainable living conditions contributing to the mortality of human and nonhuman individuals, destruction of entire ecosystems, loss of biodiversity and the sixth mass extinction evoke feelings of anxiety, anger and grief, manifested globally in popular-scientific narratives, cultural expressions, and environmental activism. In this paper I delve into crisis imaginaries linked to more-than-human death, dying and extinction, as well as questions of environmental grief, which the former are inherently entwined with. After unpacking the genealogy of the concept of environmental grief and its interlinked notions, I briefly sketch out the theoretical framework of Queer Death Studies, which this presentation is embedded in, and subsequently I look at several examples of contemporary bio-, eco-and media art that mobilise and – at times – subvert the notions of and mourning the more-than-human. 

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Bildkonst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Visual Arts (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

eco-grief

ecologies of death

visual culture

queer death studies

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vet (ämneskategori)

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