Solastalgia

"The first part of this thesis is a climate change novel called Solastalgia. In 2058, climatologist Clyde Factor travels to London to join the prestigious but mysterious Institute. Only after he arrives is he told that the job will involve time travel. Paired with Eleanor DeQuincy, a hard-headed criminologist, Clyde becomes part of team three, whose study proposes using violent ecoterrorist attacks to incite early action on climate change and save the human species. Six teams compete to have their project chosen for implementation, altering the course of history. But only one project will be selected, and time is running out. Factor and DeQuincy travel to a number of disturbing events, watching horrendous effects unfold with a disquieting prior knowledge of what will happen, and a mandate not to intervene. These horrors are balanced by opportunities to see the world as it had been when they were younger, but these moments also remind them of all they’ve lost.The second part of this thesis is a critical commentary exploring the relationship between climate fiction and readers, particularly how climate fiction can reflect the personal psychological journeys of authors, characters, and readers. It provides an overview of ecocriticism and climate fiction criticism, and analyses the ways in which climate fiction overlaps with protest fiction, discussing the import of portraying affect and trauma in climate fiction. Finally, these elements are discussed in the context of the creative project, Solastalgia. Overarchingly, the commentary argues that climate fiction is a form of protest fiction in which authors and readers interact in traumatic future worlds that reflect and predict their personal experiences within the slow trauma of climate change, and that careful use of trauma and affect can heighten the emotional connection between story and reader, which can make climate fiction more effective protest fiction.