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Eco-Themes and Climate Change in Literature

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Abstract

The starting point of this paper corresponds with the basic idea of multidisciplinary climate research according to which anthropogenic climate change can no longer be perceived as a matter for scientists to explore. Anthropogenic climate change is, as Gregers Andersen recently pointed out, in some sense a culturally constructed phenomenon which can also be investigated by any researcher of cultural studies and a number of other humanities dealing with the narrative and historical dimensions of culturally constructed objects (Andersen in Interdisc Stud Lit Environ, [1]. In the first part of my paper I will deal with Alexander von Humboldt’s take on nature and climate. Then I will present some works of critical response to the effects of technology and ecological damage taken from 19th to 20th century English, American and German literature. Finally, I will give an analysis of the various occurrences of climate change in literature through a number of fictional pieces from the past two decades.

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Correspondence to Gábor Tüskés .

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Tüskés, G. (2019). Eco-Themes and Climate Change in Literature. In: Palocz-Andresen, M., Szalay, D., Gosztom, A., Sípos, L., Taligás, T. (eds) International Climate Protection. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03816-8_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03816-8_38

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