Course description
This interdisciplinary module introduces students to the contribution Humanities makes towards environmental education by developing a better and more critical understanding of the complex relation between humans, animals, and nature in the Anthropocene. The module is based on transformative education pedagogy, and it aims to empower learners by developing critical skills and supporting them to search for new stories which provide visions of a better and more sustainable world. The core idea of the module is that stories we live by in our everyday life are critical in shaping and maintaining how we understand nature and our un/equal relationship with it. It is through these stories that, to paraphrase Pierre Bourdieu, the order of the world is respected and maintained by power relationship, abuse and injustices which are made to appear natural and unchangeable. It is through written and visual stories that we understand and talk about nature climate crisis, destructive impacts of economic growth on nature, the exploitation of natural resources, destruction of biodiversity and the suffering of animals. These stories are embedded in a wide range of discourses such those of as neo-liberal economics, advertising, veganism, travel writing, the promotion of touristic destinations and lifestyles, meat industry and pet manuals, children's literature, and films. Many of these stories are destructive of nature but, as Klain (2014: 4) and Solnit (2023) argue new stories are both necessary and possible. Okri (1996: 21) notes that  "stories are the secret reservoir of values": if we change the stories we live by we also change how we understand our relationship with nature as human animals. Positive stories can therefore inspire us to take constructive action, change dominant narratives, and lead to the creation of a less destructive society. The main objective of the module is to help students to learn to dissect, uncover, understand and resist damaging stories and search for new positive stories.

The module aims to develop students' emotional intelligence by taking them on a journey of (self) awareness by providing them with opportunities 1) to examine their own feelings which may include also negative ones such as eco-anxiety and concerns about their future, 2) to develop resilience, hope, and ability to imagine ways to work towards a sustainable future through positive stories, and 3) to foster opportunities to reconnect with nature.

Syllabus

• Introduction to the module, assessment and key concepts
• Ideology and destructive discourses
• Consumption and advertising
• Destructive stories and subversion
• Climate change
• Ecological movements and green initiatives
• Machines are animals - Nature in car advertisements
• Animals are machine The erasure of animal suffering
• Veganism and vegaphobia
• Positive stories we live by
• Animals in films and popular stories

This module covers key concepts and frameworks in the field of Environmental Humanities drawing from eco-linguistics, eco-criticism, eco-media, animal rights, and eco-literature. Students will become familiar with core theoretical concepts such as ideology, visual and linguistic metaphors and frames, identity, erasure, and salience, as valuable concepts to explore the stories we live by.

Starting from a critic of the biblical story of human centrality and the supremacy of humankind over other non-human animals, the module deconstructs the "rposperity story" which is embedded in neo-classical economics, a story which with its imperative for economic growth leads to overconsumption and ecological destruction. Economic inequalities, pollution, deforestation and climate breakdown, animal welfare etc. - the costs of mass consumption and economic growth - are erased from the "prosperity story" and normalized in the identity of people as consumers.

Such notions are deconstructed and resisted by the dissection of advertising and greenwashing discourses. In experiential workshops students identify the strategies used in ads (the dissatisfaction discourse, the convenience discourse, etc.) and subvert them by creating spoof ads shared on a Padlet. The notion of frames, as mental structures that shape how we see and experience the world, together with the exploration of linguistic and visual metaphors, are used in analysis of the discourse of climate change, which can be understood as an environmental issue, a business opportunity, or a security problem with different sets of actors, goals, and outcomes. Frames and metaphors (climate wars, global warming is a time bomb, the planet is a patient, etc.) are used to analyse newspaper articles, environmental organization webpages (Extinction Rebellion, Just Stop Oil) and speeches by activists such as Greta Thunberg to highlight the sense of urgency and the need to mobilise people towards a common cause. Metaphors, as an indispensable part of our ordinary conventional way of conceptualising the world (Lakoff, 1992: 203) are also used to analyse the implications of talking about machines (cars) as animals, and animals as machines, with the latter metaphor still present in animal industry discourse to erase the suffering experienced by animals in intensive farming. The meat industry story is challenged by animal rights and vegan discourse, in which environmental concerns and animal rights intersect. The module concludes with the discussion of On body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi (2017; and Cows by Andrea Arnold (2021).

Teaching methods
The module will be taught through a blend of weekly lectures, seminar discussions, group and individual activities. Teaching will be student-centred, and students will be supported to become active, autonomous and critical learners. The module is designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing on a virtual discussion forum and on Padlets.

Guest speakers:

1. Dr Martino Margoni, environmental activist, from PLASTICFREE.
2. Daniele Zovi, writer and expert on forests and wild animals.

Extracurricular activities:

1. Guided visit to the Piccolo Museo della Laguna sud in Pellestrina, a key local cultural site to explore the murazzi (water defences of the isle), the 4 November floods, and the lagoon biodiversity.
2. A gastronomical experience at a restaurant part of the SLOW FOOD movement.
3. Constructing Nature in Venice: Stories we live by. The summative assessment posters will be displayed at an exhibition to which all VIU students and staff will be invited. This will be an opportunity for students to showcase their work and findings.

Teaching Assessment 
The assessment is designed with the aim to develop autonomous learning and critical reflection by exploring negative and positive stories which matter in their lives. It also aims to develop collaborative working and autonomous learning by identifying a topic for a poster presentation.

1. 30% of the module credits: 700 words based on a destructive story, i.e. one which is damaging nature, chosen by the students.
2. 30% of the module credits: 700 words based on a positive story, i.e. one which is beneficial to nature. Students will collect examples of destructive and damaging stories and of positive stories, and drawing from the module readings and key concept in their summative pieces they will discuss them through the lens of their own ecosophy. Students can discuss any of the stories studied in the module (such as the discourse of consumerism, advertising, greenwashing, climate change, veganism, animal rights/vegan/environmental activist group posters/web/pages/graffiti, food and masculinity, slow food, ecotourism, eco-films and literature, etc.) but not use the same written/visual examples already discussed in class.
3. 40% of the module credits: a 5-minute poster presentation in English. Working autonomously in small groups students will explore a topic of their choice from a list of suggested topics provided by the tutor. These may include a) a sustainable tour of Venice 2) sustainable initiatives in Venice, 3) Venice as a global destination: A challenge or an opportunity, 3) climate change events in Venice, 4) slow food initiatives, 5) environmental/vegan graffiti in Venice, etc. Students will research a topic and design a poster with their findings which they present to the class. Weekly guidance will be provided during seminars and during scheduled office hours to discuss the progress of the project.

Bibliography/Recommended Reading

Adam, M., & Wahyuni, W. (2020). The Image of Climate Crisis in Media: A Conceptual Metaphor Analysis. Journal of Language and Literature, 20(1), 10.

Aguilera-Carnerero, C., & Carretero-González, M. (2021). The rhetoric of online antiveganism. The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies.

Bertolotti, M., & Catellani, P. (2014). Effects of message framing in policy communication on climate change. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44(5), 474-486.

Cole, M., & Morgan, K. (2011). Vegaphobia: Derogatory discourses of veganism and the reproduction of speciesism in UK national newspapers 1. The British journal of sociology, 62(1), 134-153.

Cook, G., 2001. The discourse of advertising. 2nd Ed. London: Routledge.

Cook, G., & Sealey, A. (2017). The discursive representation of animals. In The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics (pp. 311-324). Routledge.

Cook, G. (2015). 'A pig is a person' or 'You can love a fox and hunt it': Innovation and traditio the discursive representation of animals. Discourse & Society, 26(5), 587-607.

Dauvergne, P., & Lister, J. (2013). Eco-business: A big-brand takeover of sustainability. MIT P

Fill, A. and Penz, H. (eds) (2018) The Routledge Handbook of Ecolinguistics. New York: Routle

Fill, A., & Muhlhausler, P. (Eds.). (2006). Ecolinguistics reader: Language, ecology and environment. A&C Black.

Hughes, N. (2021). Exploring vegan ideology through graffiti slogans. Discourse & Society, 09579265211013114.

Lakoff, G. (2010). Why it matters how we frame the environment. Environmental communication, 4(1), 70-81.

Majláth, M. (2017). The effect of greenwashing information on ad evaluation. European Jour Sustainable Development, 6(3), 92-92.

Naz, N., Atta, A., & Hassan, A. (2022). Climate Change and Linguistic Assistance to Overcome Risks: An Eco Linguistic Analysis of Greta Thunberg Speech. World Journal of English Language, 12(7).

Nerlich, B., Hamilton, C., & Rowe, V. (2002). Conceptualising foot and mouth disease: The soc cultural role of metaphors frames and narratives Metaphorik de 2(2002), 90-108.

Oziewicz, M., Attebery, B., & Dedinová, T. (Eds.). (2022). Fantasy and myth in the Anthropocene: Imagining futures and dreaming hope in literature and media. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Penz, H. (2017). 'Global Warming' or 'climate change'?. In The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 277-292). Routledge.

Semino, E. (2021). "Not soldiers but fire-fighters"-metaphors and Covid-19. Health communication, 36(1), 50-58.

Slovic, S., Rangarajan, S., & Sarveswaran, V. (Eds.). (2019). Routledge Handbook of Ecocriticism and Environmental Communication (1st ed.). Routledge.

Stibbe, A. (2015). Ecolinguistics: Language, ecology and the stories we live by. Routledge.

Stibbe, A. (2012) Animals Erased: Discourse, Ecology, and Reconnection with the Natural World, Wesleyan University Press.

Stibbe, A. (2009). Advertising awareness. The ability to expose advertising discurses that undermine sustainability, and resit them'. The handbook of sustainability literacy: Skills for a changing world, 37-42.

Trampe, W. (2017). Euphemisms for killing animals and for other forms of their use. In The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 325-341). Routledge.

Course duration: 40 hours of tuition
Credits equivalence: 6 ECTS

Last updated: August 6, 2026