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“It always feels like it will never really change at all”: An Interview Study on Climate Fiction Reading and Emotions

Korikian, G. (2022) “It always feels like it will never really change at all”: An Interview Study on Climate Fiction Reading and Emotions.

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Abstract:Climate change is a significant environmental, societal, psychological, and economic threat. People are known to have difficulties in coping with this challenge and show confusion about their actions and feelings in relation to climate change. In recent years, the literary world also seems to be taking up the topic and climate fiction shows a growing body of novel work. Owing to the growing interest in climate fiction and the readership, some gaps in research are becoming apparent. Despite the potential emotional impact that cli-fi reading can have on the reader, there is hardly anything known about how the readers of cli-fi actually perceive the impact of these books on their emotions. The present thesis has investigated, through thematic analysis of interview data, the emotions experienced by cli-fi readers. The results could be summarised into five common themes, namely Hopelessness, Motivation, Sadness, Anger, and Shock. Conclusively, this study shows that reading climate fiction can evoke emotional responses in readers, which are negative as well as positive. These findings provide a basis for interventions to help people cope with their emotions or to promote positive actions towards climate change. Keywords: climate change, climate fiction, emotions, narratives.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/92611
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