Ecolinguistics and Education for Sustainability
This project aims to contribute to Education for Sustainability internationally through critical language awareness training based on ecolinguistics.
The overarching message of ecolinguistics is firstly that the stories that underpin industrial civilisation (e.g., stories of consumerism, unlimited economic growth, and nature as a machine) contribute to inequality and ecological destruction. Secondly, that we need to turn to traditional cultures around the world in the search for new stories to live by that can help build an ecological civilisation.
The project makes use of underpinning research that is described in Arran Stibbe’s book Ecolinguistics: language, ecology and the stories we live by which has been published in English as well as Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Arabic and Persian translations. The impact activities include the creation of a free online course and talks, workshops and staff training around the world.
The course has so far seen more than 2800 students participate, and Arran has given online guest talks to audiences in Mauritius, India, The Philippines, Pakistan, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Pakistan, Italy, Brazil, Germany, Vietnam and the UK. He has also been involved in podcasts and magazine interviews for the BBC and British Council, Grist Magazine, The Sustainability Agenda and Australian radio as well as advising organisations including Economia, Greenpeace, Radley Yeldar communications, Pale Blue Dot, and the Animal Think Tank. To expand the reach of the project, CCaT hosts the International Ecolinguistics Association, which is a network of more than 1000 researchers who draw from ecolinguistics materials to promote sustainability around the world.
Research project lead, Arran Stibbe
This research forms part of the research priority area, Culture, Continuity & Transformation.