We are pleased to congratulate CLIC member Thomas Mantzaris on the publication of his new edited volume, Reconnections: The Humanities in a Time of Climate Change (Helaas Digital Publications, series: Conversing with American Culture).
Synopsis
This volume brings together the work of early-career humanities researchers across Europe on the pressing issue of climate change. Within the framework of the European Association for American Studies, the essays employ a variety of perspectives and methodologies, demonstrating the relevance of humanities research in providing insight and inspiring global action. The scholars probe critically into representations of climate change in contemporary literature, the narrative implications of VR technologies and AI branding, and what it means to be human, and especially a woman, in the face of a climate crisis. The essays reveal the political layering/undercurrents of representation and draw attention to the environmental impact as experienced in real and imagined worlds, particularly by indigenous communities. Reconnections offers a nuanced understanding of climate change by young scholars of American Studies and adjacent disciplines, emphasizing the urgent need to establish a new relationship with our planet, as well as among each other.