Empirical Ecocriticism

Matthew Schneider-Mayerson is Associate Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Rice University. He is author of Peak Oil: Apocalyptic Environmentalism and Libertarian Political Culture and coeditor of An Ecotopian Lexicon (Minnesota, 2019). Alexa Weik von Mossner is associate professor of American studies at the University of Klagenfurt. She is author of Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative and Cosmopolitan Minds: Literature, Emotion, and the Transnational Imagination. W. P. Malecki is university professor of literary theory at the University of Wrocław. He is coeditor of What Can We Hope For? Essays on Politics and Human Minds and Animal Stories: How Narratives Make Us Care about Other Species. Frank Hakemulder is affiliated full professor at the Reading Center (Stavanger) and teaches media psychology and communication at Utrecht University. He is coeditor of Science and Humanities: New Research Methods and Muses and Measures: Empirical Research Methods for the Humanities.

• Contents Introduction: Toward an Integrated Approach to Environmental Narratives and Social Change Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Alexa Weik von Mossner, W. P. Malecki, and Frank Hakemulder Part I. Methods 1. Experimental Methods for the Environmental Humanities: Measuring Affects and Effects W. P. Malecki 2. Qualitative Approaches to Empirical Ecocriticism: Understanding Multidimensional Concepts, Experiences, and Processes Paul Sopcak and Nicolette Sopcak 3. Exploring the Environmental Humanities through Film Production Rebecca Dirksen, Mark Pedelty, Yan Pang, and Elja Roy Part II. Case Studies 4. Does Climate Fiction Work? An Experimental Test of the Immediate and Delayed Effects of Reading Cli-Fi Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Abel Gustafson, Anthony Leiserowitz, Matthew H. Goldberg, Seth A. Rosenthal, and Matthew Ballew 5. The Roles of Exemplar Voice, Compassion, and Pity in Shaping Audience Responses to Environmental News Narratives Jessica Gall Myrick and Mary Beth Oliver 6. The Reception of Radical Texts: The Complicated Case of Alice Walker’s “Am I Blue?” Alexa Weik von Mossner, W. P. Malecki, Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, Marcus Mayorga, and Paul Slovic 7. Screening Waste, Feeling Slow Violence: An Empirical Reception Study of the Environmental Documentary Plastic ChinaNicolai Skiveren 8. All the World’s a Warming Stage: Applied Theater, Climate Change, and the Art of Community-Based Assessments Sara Warner and Jeremy Jimenez 9. Tracing the Language of Ecocriticism: Insights from an Automated Text Analysis of ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and EnvironmentScott Slovic and David M. Markowitz Part III. Reflections 10. Empirical Ecocriticism and the Future of (Eco)Narratology Ursula K. Heise 11. Two Cheers for Empirical Ecocriticism Greg Garrard 12. Empirical Ecocriticism and Modes of Persuasion David I. Hanauer 13. Stories about the Environment for Diverse Audiences: Insights from Environmental Communication Helena Bilandzic Acknowledgments Contributors Index

"This remarkable work is an insightful and groundbreaking contribution to the fields of environmental studies and social change. It is undoubtedly a must-read for individuals actively engaged in the pursuit of these critical endeavors." -Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science   "The authors genuinely seek to understand the challenges environmentalists face concerning texts and films that communicate problems between humanity, animals, and the environment. The empirical methods offered in this book can lend readers analytical tools to improve the comprehension of audiences viewing/reading climate-themed works." -H-Net Reviews   "Schneider-Mayerson and his coeditors have assembled a diverse group of literary scholars who are esteemed professionals and advocates of environmental literacy. " -CHOICE   "These empirical studies show remarkable creativity, diversity and vitality and a combination of academism and artistry." -Digital Scholarship in the Humanities