ABSTRACT

How might climate fiction inform public perceptions of climate change and its political stakes? While early proponents of climate fiction called on writers to move the public with visceral cautionary tales, recent climate fiction and criticism thereof aims beyond apocalyptic and catastrophic representation, reflecting broader debates regarding fear and agency in the climate imaginary. This context clarifies the modes of imaginative engagement pursued in recent English-language climate novels, including Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140, Richard Powers, The Overstory, and Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island. These works respond to patterns of denial and depoliticization by challenging their audiences to reimagine agency and responsibility in politically expansive and ethically demanding terms. Dramatizing complex interconnections between communities, generations, and species, as well as the obligations and possibilities for action to which they give rise, they enrich the climate imaginary by illuminating political potential amidst the overwhelming crisis.

摘要

气候小说如何让公众了解气候变化及其政治风险？虽然气候小说的早期支持者呼吁作家用发自内心的警示故事来打动公众，但最近的气候小说及其批评超越了世界末日和灾难性的表现，反映了关于气候想象中的恐惧和能动性的更广泛辩论。这一背景阐明了近期英语气候小说所追求的富有想象力的参与模式，包括金斯坦利罗宾逊的纽约 2140、理查德鲍尔斯、故事和阿米塔夫戈什的枪岛. 这些作品通过挑战他们的观众以政治扩张和道德要求的条款重新想象代理和责任来回应否认和去政治化的模式。戏剧化了社区、世代和物种之间复杂的相互联系，以及它们所产生的行动的义务和可能性，它们通过在压倒性危机中阐明政治潜力来丰富气候想象。