Public defence: Resonances in Engagement with Climate Change in Contemporary Anglo-African and Norwegian Speculative Fictions

It has become imperative to further understand the complex interplay between situatedness, culture and planetary challenges. Stories and storytelling practices are fertile grounds when it comes to exploring such connections. The research presented here taps into these rich sources. Through an ecocritical lens, it examines contemporary speculative fictions, asking: What are some resonances in how climate change is engaged with through contemporary speculative fictions emerging from diverging production contexts? In order to provide an answer to this question, this research examines contemporary speculative fictions emerging from Norwegian and Anglo-African production contexts together through a variety of qualitative methods.

Marta Alvhild Mboka Tveit succesfully defended her thesis on 3 March 2025. 

Trial lecture

Designated topic "What are the challenges for comparative literature in studying differences in speculative fiction across cultures?"

Evaluation committee

• Professor Alena Rettová, University of Bayreuth (first opponent)
• Professor Mark Bould, UWE Bristol (second opponent)
• Professor Einar Wigen, University of Oslo (committee administrator)

Chair of the defence

• Professor Rune Svarverud

Supervisor

• Associate Professor Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay