Pamela Banting, BA, Cert. Ed., MA, PhD

PhD in English Literature University of Alberta
MA University of Manitoba
Cert. Ed. University of Manitoba
BA University of Manitoba

Areas of Research

Environmental Literature, Nature Writing, Eco-Theory and Ecocriticism
I am very broadly interested in North American nature writing, environmental literature, ecocriticism, and eco-theory.
Anthropocene Studies
What will Canada and the rest of the world be like in the very near future? Will we have a sufficiently stable climate, abundant clean water, healthy food, energy, and sociopolitical cohesion to live in relative comfort? Will there still be wild animals and wild places? How does it feel to be alive during the Sixth Great Extinction? Which new (or old) ideas, stories, ethics, and practices might help us live on, and which ones do we need to dismantle or abandon? How do the arts and humanities help us envision alternate ways of living? How can interdisciplinary approaches be incorporated into our practices in the arts, humanities and social sciences? Research could include theories and literature of the Anthropocene, global climate change, bioregionalism, community, energy, indigeneity, traditional ecological knowledge, subjectivity, wild weather, social chaos, food and food security, water, infrastructure, pandemic, animals and animality, extinctions, materiality, slow violence, activism, resilience, and the important role played by the arts and humanities. How, in short, can we develop healthier relationships with the ecosystems that underwrite our existence?
Petrocultural Studies
This new area of study and research is referred to, variously, as petrocultural studies, oil cultures, petrocriticism, and/or the energy humanities. I am currently working on thinking about the subsurface -- the underground and under foot -- and about decolonization of our extractive relationship with the earth. I'm interested in theory, fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry about energy, extraction, fossil fuels, fossils, fracking, bitumen, etc.
Psychogeography, The Art of Walking, Literature in/and Motion
Research topics might include but are not restricted to psychogeography; walking in literature and art; epic journeys; hiking narratives; the figure of the flaneur; walking with other animals; motion; etc.

Supervising degrees

English - Masters: Accepting Inquiries
English - Masters: Accepting Inquiries

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