Towards an ethic of play for environmental communication

Nimaya Grace Lemal

doi:10.6667/interface.25.2024.234

Towards an ethic of play for environmental communication

Nimaya Grace Lemal

Abstract

Situated at the intersection of narrative-making, ecological crisis, and play, this dissertation develops upon Joseph Meeker’s concept of a “play ethic” to explore its applicability to environmental communication. Bringing the play ethic out of the realm of literary comedy where Meeker discusses it and into the field of environmental communication requires a critical reconsideration of its key features and premises. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this discussion draws upon theories of play in anthropology and evolutionary psychology and considers several provocative examples of environmental communication. This discussion develops a new working definition for a play ethic based principally on the characteristics of genuine play — a development which problematises Meeker's framing of the play ethic as a strategy for survival. This discussion defends that the concept of a play ethic, independent of literary archetypes, remains relevant and compelling to the task of narrative-making in an ecological crisis. The spirit of play informs the form this exploration takes, a dismantling and rebuilding of Meeker's concept, and ultimately serves to lay the groundwork for further experimentation with the ethos of play in ecocriticism and environmental communication.

Keywords

play; climate change; communication strategies; ecological crisis; creativity.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.6667/interface.25.2024.234

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