BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:24680@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:A Brief History of Environmental Humour DTSTAMP:20260709T220700Z DTSTART:20260903T180000Z DESCRIPTION:What is and can be the role of humour in environmental literatu re? Nicole\nSeymour will explore this question by discussing two primary A nglophone genres:\nnature writing and cli-fi. While the first has been wid ely stereotyped as\npreachy and sentimental\, Seymour returns to its playf ul roots as well as its\nrecent tradition of self-satire. And while cli-fi has a progressive reputation\,\nshe will show that the genre’s recent dep loyments of humour have had troubling\neffects\, such as erasing Indigenou s perspectives.\n\nSeymour will place these phenomena in their larger cont exts\, including the\ndevelopment of queer ecologies as a critical framewo rk and the rise of\nmeta-modernism as a cultural sensibility. After her ta lk\, she will be joined in\nconversation by Peter van Dam\, Barnita Bagchi \, and moderator Jesse van\nAmelsvoort. Together\, they will think about e nvironmental humour in other\nliterary and cultural traditions and histori es across Europe\, South Asia\, and\nNorth America. How do protest movemen ts use humour and other playful affects?\nHow to read Dutch environmental discourses and genres in this respect? And how\ndoes children’s literature incorporate humour?\n\nSpeakers\n\nNicole Seymour is Professor of English and Graduate Advisor for Environmental\nStudies at California State Unive rsity\, Fullerton. Her most recent books are\nGlitter (Bloomsbury) and Bad Environmentalism: Irony and Irreverence in the\nEcological Age (Universit y of Minnesota Press). She is working on a new book\nproject about the rig ht-wing appropriation of camp aesthetics.\n\nPeter van Dam is professor of Dutch history at the University of Amsterdam.\nInspired by social\, envir onmental\, and political history\, he investigates how\npeople attempt to change their relationships with each other and the\nenvironment. The handl ing of food and energy are central to this work. His\nlatest book is Fair Trade: Humanitarianism in the Age of Postcolonial\nGlobalization.\n\nBarni ta Bagchi is Chair and Professor in World Literatures in English at the\nU niversity of Amsterdam. Her expertises on women’s writing\, utopia\, dysto pia\,\nheterotopia\, and speculative scenarios has led to current work on ecologies\, the\nenvironment\, and literature.\n\nJesse van Amelsvoort (mo derator) is a scholar of comparative literature\, and a\nlecturer in Europ ean Studies\, University of Amsterdam. His latest book is\nPost-National W orlds in Contemporary European Literature. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/a-brief-history-of-environmental-humour GEO:52.3685931;4.8896879 LOCATION:SPUI25 - Spui 25-27\, 1012 WX Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,books,ecology,food,queer,spui,talk X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

What is and can be the role of humour in en vironmental literature? Nicole Seymour will explore this question by discu ssing two primary Anglophone genres: nature writing and cli-fi. While the first has been widely stereotyped as preachy and sentimental, Seymour retu rns to its playful roots as well as its recent tradition of self-satire. A nd while cli-fi has a progressive reputation, she will show that the genre ’s recent deployments of humour have had troubling effects, such as erasin g Indigenous perspectives.

Seymour will place these phenome na in their larger contexts, including the development of queer ecologies as a critical framework and the rise of meta-modernism as a cultural sensi bility. After her talk, she will be joined in conversation by Peter van Da m, Barnita Bagchi, and moderator Jesse van Amelsvoort. Together, they will think about environmental humour in other literary and cultural tradition s and histories across Europe, South Asia, and North America. How do prote st movements use humour and other playful affects? How to read Dutch envir onmental discourses and genres in this respect? And how does children’s li terature incorporate humour?

Speakers

Nicole Seymour is Professor of English and Graduate A dvisor for Environmental Studies at California State University, Fullerton . Her most recent books are Glitter (Bloomsbury) and Bad Envi ronmentalism: Irony and Irreverence in the Ecological Age (U niversity of Minnesota Press). She is working on a new book project about the right-wing appropriation of camp aesthetics.

Peter van Dam is professor of Dutch history at the University of A msterdam. Inspired by social, environmental, and political history, he inv estigates how people attempt to change their relationships with each other and the environment. The handling of food and energy are central to this work. His latest book is Fair Trade: Humanitarianism in the Age of Pos tcolonial Globalization.

Barnita Bagchi is Chair and Professor in World Literatures in English at the Universi ty of Amsterdam. Her expertises on women’s writing, utopia, dystopia, hete rotopia, and speculative scenarios has led to current work on ecologies, t he environment, and literature.

Jesse van Amelsvoort (moderator) is a scholar of comparative literature, and a lect urer in European Studies, University of Amsterdam. His latest book is Post-National Worlds in Contemporary European Literature.

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