Apocalyptic Narratives

Hauke Riesch is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Brunel University London, researching science communication and the sociology and philosophy of science.

• 1. Introduction2. Making sense of how we make sense of the world3. The meaning of death and the making of time4. Apocalyptic visions5. What to know and how to know it6. Risk7. Utopias8. Nuclear apocalypse and the nature of evil9. Environmental apocalypse and the nature of nature10. Climate apocalypse and the nature of prophecy11. The end is near!

"For Riesch, ‘apocalypse’ is a ‘diffuse’ concept with roots in Jewish and Christian thinking, but that in contemporary Western societies is ‘cultural baggage that we carry around with us and that we use to make sense of new and otherwise bewildering threats to our existence’ (p. 4). The book considers how this ‘cultural baggage’ has shaped policy responses to a range of ‘bewildering threats,’ including climate change, nuclear war, pandemics, asteroid strikes, and geological cataclysms. Riesch argues that paying greater attention to religious discourses might provide public officials and scientists with more robust communicative tools for tackling ecological crises."Michael J. McVicar, Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 1–3, https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.23625