Rigby, K (2012) Unnatural disasters: rereading extreme weather events from 'Jeremiah' to 'Carpentaria'. In: The Cultural History of Climate Change, 27 - 28 August 2012, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Abstract
In Tim Morton’s analysis, the concept of “nature” is an impediment to what he considers truly ecological thought. Extending that argument, this paper proceeds from the premise that the related concept of “natural disaster” is blocking the recognition of human agency in the etiology of today’s extreme weather events. In problematising this paradigmatically modern concept, the paper considers a number of literary representations of extreme weather events from pre-modern, or non-modern, and post-modern contexts, which can be seen from a contemporary material ecocritical perspective to disclose the distributed or heterogeneous agency involved in such events, while enjoining human responsibility in response to them. Among the texts to be considered are biblical prophetic writings (especially Jeremiah), the poetry of Judith Wright and Alexis Wright’s novel 'Carpentaria'.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Note: | This paper was presented as part of a session entitled 'Session 3: Climates of Writing'. |
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GB Physical geography G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History |
| Divisions: | School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jun 2016 14:47 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Aug 2021 09:42 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/7712 |
 |
Request a change to this item or report an issue |
 |
Update item (repository staff only) |
Tools
Tools
