Climate Change Fiction for Students and Teachers

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4 years ago

Fiction exploring the possibilities of a changed and changing climate can be a powerful way to make these abstract futures more immediate for ourselves and our students.This listing of climate fiction (cli-fi) includes brief descriptions of a range of short stories and novels, along with questions for discussion. A second listing includes especially challenging visions of climate futures for teachers or students interested in reading further. 

Introduction


Part of the challenge of climate change is that the apocalyptic consequences of our carbon use are emerging slowly and globally, rather than in a single newsworthy disaster, making it difficult to muster the vision and motivation to fight it. Fiction exploring the possibilities of a changed and changing climate can be a powerful way to make these abstract futures more immediate for ourselves and our students.

Most climate fiction, or cli-fi, paints a bleak future. However, some authors also imagine ways that humanity might manage to respond positively to the crisis.  Below, we offer two lists of literature and novels to consider reading and discussing with students.

The first list includes short stories, novels, and poems that take the more positive, visionary approach to the subject of climate change, focusing on fighting and adapting to climate change. Through envisioning cultural tools and social strategies for transitioning to a post-carbon world, these stories offer inspiration and guidance for how we might address our very real problems-- not just through magical new technology, but through cultural shifts that make use of the technology we already have. These texts could be used for whole-class reading, and could enrich a larger unit on climate change or even lead to students researching and creating their own artistic explorations of futures altered by climate change. Questions for discussion follow each listing.

The second list includes various other climate futures for students interested in reading further. It, too, covers YA and adult fiction that is focused on the social and practical issues around climate change. Many of these latter texts focus on vividly conveying the emotional weight of various disasters that come with climate change.

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