Uncertain Seasons in the El Niño Continent: Local and Global Views Cover Image

Uncertain Seasons in the El Niño Continent: Local and Global Views
Uncertain Seasons in the El Niño Continent: Local and Global Views

Author(s): Libby Robin
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Theoretical Linguistics, Applied Linguistics
Published by: Instytut Anglistyki Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Australia;environment;global warming;Janette Turner;eco-fiction;

Summary/Abstract: As global climate change shifts seasonal patterns, local and uncertain seasons of Australia have global relevance. Australia’s literature tracks extreme local weather events, exploring ‘slow catastrophes’ and ‘endurance.’ Humanists can change public policy in times when stress is a state of life, by reflecting on the psyches of individuals, rather than the patterns of the state. ‘Probable’ futures, generated by mathematical models that predict nature and economics, have little to say about living with extreme weather. Hope is not easily modelled. The frameworks that enable hopeful futures are qualitatively different. They can explore the unimaginable by offering an ‘interior apprehension.’

  • Issue Year: 28/2019
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 7-19
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: English