DeepSummary
This podcast episode features an interview with Dr. Alexa Weik von Mossner, an associate professor of American studies, discussing her book "Affective Ecologies: Empathy, Emotion, and Environmental Narrative". She explains her interdisciplinary approach, which combines insights from cognitive science, ecocriticism, and narratology to explore how humans emotionally engage with environmental narratives in literature and film.
Von Mossner discusses her focus on empathy and how narratives can strategically invite readers/viewers to empathize with human and non-human characters affected by environmental injustice. She examines the concept of "trans-species empathy" and how narratives represent animal perspectives without excessive anthropomorphism. The interview delves into the cognitive processes involved in experiencing narratives across different mediums like books and films.
Throughout the discussion, von Mossner emphasizes the relevance of interdisciplinary humanities research in understanding human behavior, particularly in relation to environmental crises. She advocates for the value of literary studies in fostering critical thinking, perspective-taking, and empathy - skills essential for addressing complex social and environmental issues.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Von Mossner adopts an interdisciplinary approach combining cognitive science, ecocriticism, and narratology to study how humans emotionally and cognitively engage with environmental narratives in literature and film.
- She focuses on the role of empathy and how narratives can strategically invite readers/viewers to empathize with human and non-human characters affected by environmental injustice.
- Von Mossner explores the concept of "trans-species empathy" and the representation of animal perspectives in narratives without excessive anthropomorphism.
- The interview discusses the cognitive processes involved in experiencing narratives across different mediums like books and films, drawing on empirical research.
- Von Mossner advocates for the relevance of interdisciplinary humanities research, particularly literary studies, in understanding human behavior and addressing complex environmental issues.
- She emphasizes the value of literary studies in fostering critical thinking, perspective-taking, and empathy - skills essential for addressing social and environmental challenges.
- Von Mossner highlights the importance of empirical research on how readers/viewers actually engage with and are influenced by narratives, moving beyond theoretical analysis.
- She maintains a humble yet optimistic perspective on how her research can contribute to broader discussions about the role of narrative in shaping human understanding and behavior related to environmental crises.
Top Episodes Quotes
- βI don't know, at least for me personally, it is helpful to get a better understanding of how our minds, how our brains, how our bodies interact with the narrative, if we have questions about reception in particular.β by Alexa Weik von Mossner
- βI think what we should be doing, in addition to this kind of theoretical and conceptual work and analytical work, is also looking more empirically at what people are actually then doing with it, what they're actually taking away from a narrative.β by Alexa Weik von Mossner
- βI think it can perhaps contribute a tiny little piece to this much larger discourse.β by Alexa Weik von Mossner
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Episode Information
New Books in Environmental Studies
Marshall Poe
11/18/23