02/07/2020 10:00 Room 1 #narsls

Humans live in a world full of narratives. They concern and affect us not only in textual forms, but also in terms of our identity. Who we are and what we make of life, is constructed in the form of narratives that we tell ourselves and others. My research project takes an ecocritical approach to Norwegian comics for children and young adults to investigate how fiction functions as a medium for the education of young readers regarding what it means to be an environmentally responsible citizen. I combine an econarratological approach, which is a direction in the field of ecocriticism that pays special attention to narratological questions, with concepts of environmental citizenship as developed in political sciences to find out more about how various forms of citizenship are being narrated in relation to environmental aspects. Using the popular comics character Nemi, I will discuss different takes on the human-nature relationship and how the comic strips comment on social and environmental situations today. Nemi’s unconventional approach to life and society offers new perspectives on some of everyday life’s problems. Her sarcastic character is attentive of the beauty in small things. This is especially interesting when we look at what Nemi can teach us about what is generally valued and what is often neglected in our society.