The science of climate change is largely a narrative endeavor, and it is the shape of this narrative that is contested in debates about the politics of global warming. The most significant variables in models of possible future climates involve humans and how we choose to respond to our situation. Scenario-thinking, of increasing complexity and realism, is the goal for ecological management, policy making, and corporate planning with regard to climate change and other risk-filled possibilities, and science fiction acts as a source and supplement to these scenarios. I argue that climate change scenarios, in fiction, science, and policy, tend to be articulated within apocalyptic or utopian frames and that environmentalists have largely neglected utopian thinking in favor of eschatological catastrophe. I argue for the enduring value of utopia as a methodology, above any particular literary text or political platform.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03212012-142522 |
| Date | 25 March 2012 |
| Creators | Morrell, John J. |
| Contributors | Cecelia Tichi, Vera Kutzinski, Robert Barsky, David Wood |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03212012-142522/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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