The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch that highlights the significant impact humans have had on the Earth’s geology, ecosystems, and climate. While scientists remain divided as to whether and when we have entered such a new epoch, the concept of the Anthropocene has also generated lively debates in the humanities and society at large. This course focuses on the ways in which the Anthropocene has shaped literary culture. How do we represent a world in which the very concepts of the “human” and “nature” have become fundamentally transformed? How do aesthetic categories such as the sublime help us to convey the consequences of global warming? Is the novel, the most popular genre of modern times, really suited to render this new reality or should we turn to what Amitav Ghosh refers to as the traditional “outhouses” of literature to imagine the collective predicament we are currently faced with? We will confront these questions in relation to selected novels, poetry, and movies from American culture that can be categorized under the rubric of Anthropocene fictions.
- Teacher: Michael Boyden