This creative volume demonstrates the urgent importance of engaging students cognitively and affectively with the climate crisis and environmental education, underpinning the vital role the language arts play in expanding this engagement for a better future.
Moving beyond the basic modalities of English, chapters written by an internationally diverse group of contributors advocate for the integration of language arts with environmental education through broad representation of creative subdisciplines: drama, visual literacy, philosophy, poetry, student voice and more. These subdisciplines are explored to suggest the context in which environmental degradation, forest ecologies, carbon literacy and indigenous knowledges are taught, further helping students to develop a comprehensive view of how they can effect change. Ultimately, the book makes a compelling argument by emphasising the significance of interdisciplinary learning in fostering a holistic understanding of environmental issues.
This volume will appeal to scholars, researchers and postgraduate students in the field of environmental and sustainability education, English and literacy/language arts and teacher education more broadly. Undergraduate students, policymakers, environmental educators and curriculum designers may also benefit from this volume.
Introduction Part 1: Opening up the Debate Chapter 1 Environmental texts in the classroom: The centrality of ecocritical reading Chapter 2 Fostering Environmental Justice, Climate Justice, and Collective Action through Children’s and Young Adult Literature Chapter 3 Humanising Science through the Arts Chapter 4 Imagining the Environment in a Different, More Hopeful Language: (Foreign) Language Teaching with Environmental Issues and Sustainability Part 2: Thinking about Voice Chapter 5 Voicing More-Than-Human Vulnerability: A Lyric Approach to Fostering Biodiversity Loss Literacy Chapter 6 Philosophical Dialogue in Ecoliteracy Education: Words for Change Part 3: Creating and Responding to Texts Chapter 7 “Reading-With” to Build Meaningful Connections with Animate Place-based Literacies Chapter 8 Environmental education in international contexts: exploring issues through literature Chapter 9 Pre-Service English Teachers engage with the natural world through poetry: A cubed template to document the plains of the unknown world Chapter 10 What can storytelling and drama offer to students' ecological understanding and citizenship? Being trees Chapter 11 Socio-Environmental (In)Justice In Forest Stewardship: a multi-perspective materials assemblage for English as a Foreign Language teacher education in Chile Part 4: Engaging with Visual and Social Media Chapter 12 The Visual Image and Imagination of Alternative Futures: Nuance, Ambiguity, and Hope Chapter 13 Engaging young people with ecocritical analysis of language in the media Conclusion
Nicholas McGuinn is an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Education, University of York, UK. Amanda Naylor is Senior Lecturer in English and Education, University of York, UK.
