Temporal Landscapes and Nesting: An Environmental Humanities Workshop on the Transitional Potential of Contemporary Aboriginal Writing

Workshop Focus:

This workshop explores the potential of contemporary Aboriginal Storytelling to enable active political memorization and to function as a tool for the implementation of sustainable transition practices, with specific focus on 21^st century ecological issues. It bridges scholarly debates on ecocriticism, posthumanism, and education within the Environmental Humanities with an empirical methodology grounded in the concept of ‘nesting’. Nesting, as a dual notion - theorized within the N.E.S.T. Research Network, to which this project relates to -, on the one hand refers to the sense of creating a nest or a sheltered space for one’s offspring or for oneself, with the intention of rebuilding and repairing the environment for the sake of new generations. On the other hand, ‘nesting’ conveys the idea of placing or embedding one thing within another to assess relationality and complexity; in this sense, we use a multidisciplinary approach to tackle the complexity of urgent crises with creative approaches towards texts. 

Participants will engage in a narrative-based workshop featuring the contemporary Australian short story ‘Split’ (2021) by Noongar-descended Aboriginal writer Cassie Lynch. This story juxtaposes the protagonist’s experiences of dual temporality, existing both in a concrete-dominated city and in a time when natural environments thrive, highlighting the contrasts between anthropocentric present spaces and non-anthropocentric pasts and potential futures. Literature here transcends the temporal framework of the individual lifespan, inviting readers to picture both the past and potential futures. 

The workshop’s activities are designed to immerse participants in the narrative and to reflect on their own urban realities. Furthermore, it introduces them to methodologies rooted in empirical ecocriticism, and invites them to participate in an empirical study deducted by the workshop leaders through questionnaires and group discussions on their responses with the selected story. By integrating narrative and empirical evaluation, the workshop aims to empower participants to become protagonists of change, fostering sustainable lifestyles and stronger connections between theory and practice. This initiative encourages dynamic exchanges, promoting best practices for addressing climate change.

In particular:

• Participants will learn an enhanced understanding of the politics of memory and of the potential of contemporary Indigenous storytelling to foster sustainable transition.
• Develop critical analysis skills related to literary texts, ecological issues, and empirical ecocriticism, especially by discussing and reflecting on their own perception of cityscapes before and after engaging with contemporary Aboriginal writing.
• Furthermore, they will identify forms of ‘nesting’ for both humans and non-humans, utilizing ‘slow walking’ and ‘digital detox’ techniques to deepen their engagement with the environment inside and outside of the workshop.
• Participants themselves will be members in an empirical study that explores the potential of contemporary Aboriginal storytelling to facilitate ecological and sustainable transitions in glocal contexts. Together, we will measure their (potentially changing) perceptions of nesting opportunities for human and non-human animals within a four- to six-week timeframe.

Good to know:

• This workshop will be offered as a hybrid format
• Participants will be provided with the necessary literature at the workshop

 Please register on Stud.IP to participate.

Context:

This workshop will be conducted in the context of the N.E.S.T. (Narratives for Ecological and Sustainable Transition) research network. This Network, funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the DM 737/2021, unites early-career researchers from diverse European universities, addressing the global challenges of climate change by studying narratives that raise awareness, address ethical concerns, and offer alternatives to ecological crises in local communities.

 Dr. Deborah de Muijnck is a postdoctoral researcher and academic coordinator of the European PhD Network “Literary and Cultural Studies” at the GCSC, JLU Giessen. While her PhD (from RWTH Aachen University’s English Department) focused on cognitive narratological approaches toward post trauma storytelling, her second monograph explores literary scandals as forms of cultural transgressions in British and Irish Literature from 1800 – 21st century.

 Dr. Stefano Rozzoni is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bergamo. He has previously worked as a postdoc Assistant and lecturer at Universität Graz, Austria. His current postdoctoral project is dedicated to exploring human-nonhuman relational ethics in contemporary anglophone literary and cultural texts (2010-present) through the lens of the Digital Environmental Humanities.

This workshop will be conducted in the context of the N.E.S.T. (Narratives for Ecological and Sustainable Transition) research network. This Network, funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU) and the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) through the DM 737/2021, unites early-career researchers from diverse European universities, addressing the global challenges of climate change by studying narratives that raise awareness, address ethical concerns, and offer alternatives to ecological crises in local communities.