Ecoadaptation: Mediating Nature and the Environment

This collection of essays brings together the study of cultural adaptations and environmental studies—thus the coined term “ecoadaptation”—to explore how elements of the natural world and the environment are represented and adapted in a variety of media. This collection of essays brings together the study of cultural adaptations and environmental studies—thus the coined term “ecoadaptation”—to explore how elements of the natural world and the environment are represented and adapted in a variety of media. Emerging from the 2023 Literature and Film Association conference in Montana, this volume responds to the urgent call for a “green movement in adaptation studies,” as proposed by scholars like Kyle Meikle and Robert Geal. The essays delve into critical questions such as: What is the nature of adaptation? How do our stories about nature evolve across time and media? How do environmentally-focused adaptations influence public responses to climate change? Contributors examine how narratives about the natural world intersect with issues of race, gender, and class, and how non-narrative art forms replicate and adapt nature. This collection also explores the transformation and appropriation of Indigenous narratives about nature. This book is essential for scholars and students in ecocriticism, adaptation studies, literature, film and television studies, art history, and environmental literature. It offers a groundbreaking perspective on the intersection of adaptation and environmental studies, illustrating the evolving landscape of adaptation studies.