Climate Change: Stories from the Front Line

Organised by the Commission on Science and Literature (CoSciLit)
Hosted by the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA)

In 2023, to coincide with COP28, CoSciLit and the University of Birmingham (UK and UAE) hosted an online symposium showcasing papers by early career researchers on the question ‘How can literary studies contribute to a just transition to sustainable society?’ Two years on, we invite you to join us for another online symposium examining how stories themselves, of all kinds, can contribute to our understanding of climate change and to the struggle to make our societies more sustainable. The first three panels will comprise presentations by researchers and practitioners joining us from Australia, Asia and Africa. The fourth, fifth and sixth panels will respond directly to COP30 in Brazil and report on associated events and activities.

Session 1 – Australia and South-East Asia

09:00 Birmingham, 16:00 Yogyakarta, 17:00 Perth, 19:00 Brisbane

Cultural Responses to the Ecological Crisis: Noongar and Anatolian Stories in the Light of Traditional Wisdom

• Sevda Geçen, Assistant Professor, Department of Turkish Language and Literature, Bitlis Eren University, Türkiye, and Visiting Researcher, University of Western Australia

Stories from the Forests of Indonesia

• Julie Gilson, Professor in Asian Studies and the Environment, University of Birmingham, UK
• Else Liliani, Assistant Professor, Department of Indonesian Language and Literature Education, Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia

Chair: Melissa Dickson, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, University of Queensland, Australia, and Secretary of the Commission on Science and Literature

Session 2 – South Asia and the Middle East

10:00 Birmingham, 14:00. Dubai, 15:00 Islamabad

Oceanic Futurism: Maritime Ecologies in Pakistani Speculative Fiction

• Sadaf Mehmood, Assistant Professor of English Literature, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Sustaining Memory: Human/Environmental Interaction and Communal Identity in the Mangroves of the United Arab Emirates

• Niveen Kassem, Associate Researcher in Arabic Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, Dubai, UAE

Chair: Anissa Daoudi, Senior Lecturer in Arabic and Translation Studies, University of Birmingham, UK

Session 3 – Africa

11:00 Birmingham/Accra, 13:00 Stellenbosch

Storymaking in the Now-Times

• Wamuwi Mbao, Senior Lecturer in English Studies, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Understanding Air Pollution and Climate Health Challenges in Ghana

• Mary Eyram Ashinyo, West Africa Regional Founding Representative- The Planetary Health Alliance

Chair: Nana Osei Bonsu, Assistant Professor in Responsible Business & Sustainability, University of Birmingham, UK

Refreshment break – 12 noon Birmingham

Session 4 – Brazil (1) – I Brazilian Workshop on Science and Literature

13:00 Birmingham, 10:00 Porto Alegre/Rio de Janeiro

Vanessa Costa Schmitt, CoSciLit representative for Brazil, and Jade Arbo, PhD candidate at the Federal University of Pelotas have been co-organising a workshop on Interdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability at Rio Grande do Sul Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology (IFRS) in Porto Alegre on 12-13 November to coincide with COP30. This panel will reflect on this conference and its outcomes. Speakers will include:

• Bárbara Borum-Kren, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute of Behavioural Science, University of Colorado–Boulder, USA
• Fabio Rubio Scarano, Professor of Ecology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Unesco Chair on Futures Literacy at the Museum of Tomorrow, Brazil

Session 5 – Brazil (2) – International Student Exchange

14:00 Birmingham, 11:00 Belém

Student panel, chaired by Emanuelle Santos, Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages, University of Birmingham Brazil Institute, UK, involving students from Universidade do Estado do Pará (UEPA), Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA), Instituto Federal do Pará (IFPA), Faculdade Dominus and the University of Birmingham, UK

Session 6 – Reflections on COP30: Climate Change and Storytelling

15:00 Birmingham, 12:00 Belém

The symposium will close with an interdisciplinary roundtable debriefing on COP30 and on the role of stories and storytelling in response to climate change

• Renan Bernado, Science-Fiction and Fantasy Author and Nebula and Ignyte Finalist, Brazil
• Rob MacKenzie, Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), University of Birmingham, UK
• Pablo Mukherjee, Professor of Anglophone World Literature, Oxford University, UK
• Terra Sprague, Narrative Inquirer, University of Bristol and Earth Systems Protection Foundation, UK
• Alison Tickell, CEO Julie's Bicycle, UK, and Convener of 'We Make Tomorrow, Culture at the Heart of Climate Action'

Chair: John Holmes, Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture University of Birmingham, UK and President of the Commission on Science and Literature

For an analysis of how the power of the creative arts and industries can be harnessed to inspire hope and drive change, see our policy brief below:

Stories for the Future