Sunday, June 18, 2017

''Nach der Sci-Fi kommt die Cli-Fi'' -- an article in Germany by reporter Julia Grillmayr -- ("After Sci-fi comes Cli-Fi")


Nach der Sci-Fi kommt die Cli-Fi (aka cli-fi.net)

18. Juni 2017, 10:00
''Nach der Sci-Fi  kommt die Cli-Fi'' --

an article in German
by reporter Julia Grillmayr

159 Postings COMMENTS

Eine Konferenz in Graz reflektierte über die Rolle von Literatur in ökologischen Diskursen. Das Genre der Climate-Fiction macht die abstrakten Folgen des Klimawandels greifbar





A conference in Graz reflected on the role of literature in environmental discourses. The genre of the climate fiction makes the abstract consequences of climate change in tangible Graz - you describe heat and tidal waves, ice ages, the extinction of species or portray natural beauty and show untamed woods, sea and animals as particularly worth protecting. For literary works which the man-made climate change and its consequences deal, the literary and cultural science has for some time been developed their own concepts and labels: it speaks of "Okokritik" (in English "Ecocriticism") or "Climate Fiction", in short "Cli-Fi".provocative and with a question mark, but not meant unernst Cli-Fi Axl good body designated as the genre of the century". The German Professor of British Bath University said last week at the conference "Literature and the environment", the English Institute of the University of Graz and among other things organised by the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Agriculture has been supported.Okokritische literature or cli-fi occurs with a political claim. She wants to help shape such as on climate change and the associated risks and remedies under consideration. "Climate change is inaccessible for the human perception," said good body. Literature translate the global, complex phenomenon in individual space and time units. "It makes the climate change locally and directly and shows at the same time its dramatic scale." Cli-Fi could be positive and negative role images demonstrate and explore different action scenarios. Most of the works that are traded as climate fiction are American, but there are also many German examples, such as the good body showed. He called about the Proto-Cli-Fi-Roman "mountains and seas Giants" by Alfred Döblin from the year 1924 and "EisTau Ilija Trojanows" (2011).What specific function can literature for environmental discourses have? This question influences the okokritik and thus also fundamentally the Graz Conference. A central theorist in this debate is Hubert Zapf, America nest at the University of Augsburg. In his lecture lifted tap that artists a distinctive, critical Sensorium for power relations and therefore had an important voice in the negotiation of environmental justice. In view of the ecological crisis, new forms of story telling are necessary.

Kultur und Natur

Das passiert einerseits auf inhaltlicher Ebene; Cli-Fi lenkt die Aufmerksamkeit auf ökologische Themen und Motive. Andererseits geht es um das Aufzeigen von Perspektiven durch das Finden einer neuen Sprache und somit auch um eine gewisse Selbstreflexion von Literatur und Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft.
So wurde bei der Tagung oft auf Zapfs einflussreiches Konzept der "kulturellen Ökologie" zurückgegriffen, das Kultur und Natur nicht einander gegenüberstellt, sondern auf einer Ebene denkt. Die "Umwelt" ist in diesem Verständnis nicht mehr nur die materielle Umgebung, sondern auch die Ideen und Bilder, die an diese geknüpft sind und auf sie zurückwirken. "Literatur ist eine ökologische Kraft im kulturellen Feld", sagte Zapf.
Neben konkreten ökokritischen Textstudien – etwa Maximilian Feldner von der Universität Graz, der über den nigerianischen Autor Helon Habila und sein Sujet der Ölgewinnung im Nigerdelta sprach – waren daher auch die Herangehensweisen und Ziele der Wissenschaft selbst immer wieder Thema. Julia Martin von der südafrikanischen University of the Western Cape zeigte eindrucksvoll, was der Anspruch der "environmental humanities" für ihr akademisches Arbeiten bedeutet.
Mit der Idee, auch nichtakademisches Publikum zu erreichen und die disziplinären Grenzen zu überschreiten, propagierte sie "literarische Non-Fiction", ein essayistisches wissenschaftliches Schreiben. Sie ermutigte zu spekulativeren Herangehensweisen, bei Beibehaltung wissenschaftlicher Akkuratesse. Dabei sei der eigenen Subjektivität ein gewisser Platz einzuräumen: "Im akademischen Schreiben wird das 'Ich' vermieden", sagte Martin, man sollte hingegen versuchen, in wissenschaftlicher Weise ausgehend von persönlichen Erfahrungen und Gefühlen zu sprechen – ohne dass das "Ich" dabei ein narzisstisches würde.
"Interconnectedness", die Feststellung, dass alles mit allem verbunden ist, sei der Kern dessen, was aus der derzeitigen ökologischen Situation gelernt werden könne, sagte Martin. Zu dieser Verbundenheit gehören in einem wichtigen Maß auch Tiere.

Tiere sprechen lassen

Wird über ökokritisches Schreiben reflektiert, dann oftmals mit der Frage, wie die literarischen Werke nichtmenschlichen Protagonisten eine Stimme verleihen. Oft werden Tiere in Fiktionen anthropomorphisiert und kommunizieren in menschlicher Sprache – man denke an "Das Dschungelbuch". Der Kanadist Konrad Groß von der Universität Kiel zeigte anhand des Romans "L'Oursiade" der französischsprachigen kanadischen Autorin Antonine Maillet, dass es alternative, seiner Ansicht nach überzeugendere Weisen gibt, Tiere sprechen zu lassen.
Eine weitere kanadische Autorin, auf die in diesem Zusammenhang immer wieder referiert wird, ist Margaret Atwood. In einer Doppelpräsentation und im Vergleich mit der Schweizer Autorin Hedi Wyss zeigten Michelle Gadpaille und Vesna Kondric-Horvat von der Universität Maribor auf, wie Atwoods Fiktionen thematisch, aber auch stilistisch ökokritisch arbeiten. In Bezug auf eine Kurzgeschichte Atwoods stellte Gadpaille fest: "Sie schreibt ohne die Syntax des Missbrauchs am Planeten. Nicht Subjekt, Verb, Objekt; nicht jemand tut etwas einem anderen an."


(by Julia Grillmayr, 18.6.2017)


============


Translation:


''After Sci-Fi comes Cli-Fi''


by reporter Julia Grillmayr


A conference in Graz reflected on the role of literature in environmental discourses. The genre of the climate fiction makes the abstract consequences of climate change in tangible Graz - you describe heat and tidal waves, ice ages, the extinction of species or portray natural beauty and show untamed woods, sea and animals as particularly worth protecting. For literary works which the man-made climate change and its consequences deal, the literary and cultural science has for some time been developed their own concepts and labels: it speaks of "Okokritik" (in English "Ecocriticism") or "Climate Fiction", in short "Cli-Fi".provocative and with a question mark, but not meant unernst Cli-Fi Axl good body designated as the genre of the century". The German Professor of British Bath University said last week at the conference "Literature and the environment", the English Institute of the University of Graz and among other things organised by the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Agriculture has been supported.Okokritische literature or cli-fi occurs with a political claim. She wants to help shape such as on climate change and the associated risks and remedies under consideration. "Climate change is inaccessible for the human perception," said good body. Literature translate the global, complex phenomenon in individual space and time units. "It makes the climate change locally and directly and shows at the same time its dramatic scale." Cli-Fi could be positive and negative role images demonstrate and explore different action scenarios. Most of the works that are traded as climate fiction are American, but there are also many German examples, such as the good body showed. He called about the Proto-Cli-Fi-Roman "mountains and seas Giants" by Alfred Döblin from the year 1924 and "EisTau Ilija Trojanows" (2011).What specific function can literature for environmental discourses have? This question influences the okokritik and thus also fundamentally the Graz Conference. A central theorist in this debate is Dr Hubert Zapf, American specialist at the University of Augsburg.


 In his lecture he said that artists a distinctive, critical Sensorium for power relations and therefore had an important voice in the negotiation of environmental justice. In view of the ecological crisis, new forms of story telling are necessary.


Culture and Nature


Cli-Fi draws attention to ecological themes and motifs. On the other hand is the identification of perspectives by finding a new language and thus also to a degree of self-reflection of literature and literary and cultural studies.


At the meeting it was often on Dr Zapf's influential concept of "Cultural Ecology" resorted to the culture and nature not opposite to each other, but on a plane thinks. The "Environment" in this sense is not only the physical environment, but also the ideas and images that are linked to it and get back to you work. "Literature is an ecological force in the cultural field," said Zapf.
In addition to concrete okokritischen text studies - such as Dr. Maximilian Feldner from the University of Graz, the Nigerian author Helon Habila and his subject of the oil in the Niger Delta language - were therefore also the approach and objectives of the science itself again and again. Dr Julia Martin of the South African University of the Western Cape showed impressively that the claim of "environmental humanities" for your academic work means.


With the idea, not even academic audience to reach and the disciplinary boundaries, propagated "Literary Non-Fiction", the trial scientific writing. You are encouraged to speculative nature of approaches, while maintaining scientific accuracy.


 It is the own subjectivity to grant a certain place: "In the academic writing is the 'i'", said Martin avoided, you should try to be in a scientific manner on the basis of personal experiences and feelings to speak - without that the "i" is a narcissist table.


"Inter-connectedness", the fact that everything is connected with everything that is at the core of what the current environmental situation could be learned, Martin said. To this unity are in an important dimension also animals


AND...


Animals speak it is reflected on okokritisches letter, then often with the question how the literary works of non-human protagonists give a voice.


Often animals in fiction anthropomorphisiert and communicate in human language - think of the Jungle Book". The Kana Dist Konrad large from the University of Kiel showed on the basis of the novel "L'Oursiade" the French Canadian author Antonine Maillet that are alternative, in his view more compelling ways to animals speak to leave.Another Canadian author to in this context always referenced is Margaret Atwood. In a double-presentation and compared with the Swiss author Hedi Wyss showed Michelle Gadpaille and Vesna Kondric-Horvat from the University of Maribor on how atwoods fictions topic table, but also stylistically okokritisch work. In relation to a short story Atwoods, Gadpaille hard: "She writes without the syntax of the abuse on the planet. Not the subject, verb, object; not someone does something another."


(reported by Julia Grillmayr, 18.6.2017)




derstandard.at/2000059374108/after-the-science-fiction comes-the-climate fiction

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