Durée
30h Th
Nombre de crédits
Enseignant
Langue(s) de l'unité d'enseignement
Langue anglaise
Organisation et évaluation
Enseignement au premier quadrimestre, examen en janvier
Horaire
Unités d'enseignement prérequises et corequises
Les unités prérequises ou corequises sont présentées au sein de chaque programme
Contenus de l'unité d'enseignement
"Climate Change and the Literary Imagination"
In his essay about "climate change and the unthinkable", entitled The Great Derangement (2016; University of Chicago Press), the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh argues that contemporary artists - just like politicians - have revealed a deep-lying inability to grasp the scale and the likely consequences of global warming, so that the theme tends to be underrepresented in high-brow literary culture. Based upon Ghosh's insights, we shall try to fathom the formal characteristics of a few contemporary novels in English which do tackle the theme of climate change, whether ot not they do so in the manner prescribed by the Indian author. We shall pay special attention to the following:
Barbara Kingsolver, Flight Behavior (2012; HarperCollins)
Amitav Ghosh, Gun Island (2019; John Murray)
Robbie Arnott, The Rain Heron (2020; Atlantic Books)
Acquis d'apprentissage (objectifs d'apprentissage) de l'unité d'enseignement
1. Enhance the students' capacity for textual analysis and interpretation.
2. Encourage a reflection about our role as "implicated subjects" in a warming and divided world.
Savoirs et compétences prérequis
Nothing of the sort, but it will of course help to have, or wish to develop, a sense of preoccupation with the gravity of our global situation.
Activités d'apprentissage prévues et méthodes d'enseignement
A few heuristic seminars; perhaps an exposure to the unthinkable.
Mode d'enseignement (présentiel, à distance, hybride)
Cours donné exclusivement en présentiel
Explications complémentaires:
Face to faces, if we can stand the confrontation.
Supports de cours, lectures obligatoires ou recommandées
See above.
Modalités d'évaluation et critères
Examen(s) en session
Toutes sessions confondues
- En présentiel
évaluation orale
Informations complémentaires:
Examen(s) en session
Toutes sessions confondues
- En présentiel
évaluation orale
Explications complémentaires:
Among the criteria that will play a part in the evaluation, I wish to mention:
1. Diligence in terms of reading the recommended, primary and secondar, material.
2. Ability to develop a personal reflection based on said material.
3. Sincerity of commitment to literary culture / utopian thinking.
Stage(s)
Not applicable.
Remarques organisationnelles et modifications principales apportées au cours
The course will be organized in the first term. The seminars will be held on Mondays (9-11am) in room "A2-5/16" (building A2).
The first meeting will be held on Monday 29 September 2025.
Contacts
Please contact Marc Delrez for any query concerning the course: marc.delrez@uliege.be