- // At the Sources of the Anthropocene: Ecology, Technoscientific Progress and Literature

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This project examines the literary representation of the relationship between ecological crisis and technoscientific progress. It specifically explores the fundamental ambiguity that persists between progress as a catalyst for the Anthropocene crisis and the myth of technosolutionism as a potential pathway out of it. Drawing on the historical context of the Anthropocene provided by Fressoz and Bonneuil, and on the theoretical insights from Hans Jonas on the principle of responsibility, Ulrich Beck on risk, and Bruno Latour on the representation of modernity, the project aims to construct a long-term history of cultural representations of the relationship between technoscientific progress and the environment. The primary field of inquiry is Francophone literature, utilizing innovative methodologies from ecopoetics. The project will investigate cultural representations of the impact of progress on the environment across a wide temporal range, from the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution to the present day, drawing on the works of authors from various periods, such as George Sand, Marcel Proust, Jean Giono, Pierre Gascar, Jean-Loup Trassard, and Léonora Miano, with particular attention to the issue of resource exploitation and environmental justice.
Thus, the project aims to provide a historical and conceptual framework for a fundamental issue in environmental studies that is currently missing from academic literature, while also contributing to the development of intellectual tools for the defense of natural heritage.
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Début de la thèse : 01/10/2025
WEB : https://research.univ-unita.eu/en/choral-project.html

Programmes de l'Union Européenne de financement de la recherche (ERC, ERASMUS)

Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour

481 Sciences Sociales et Humanités

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Master's degree in French Literature