Ecocriticism and Eco-Thriller: Negotiations in Latin America and the Global North

Environmental problems such as climate change, pollution of air, water, and soil, the loss of biodiversity, resource scarcity, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events—including floods, heat waves, droughts, and wildfires—as well as the social consequences resulting from environmental transformations, such as the unequal distribution of environmental pollution, have intensified considerably in the twenty-first century. Consequently, a growing environmental awareness can be observed. This development is reflected, in particular, in the increasingly intensive engagement with ecological issues in literature and film.

In Latin America, the subgenre of the Eco-Thriller has proven to be especially responsive to environmental concerns. These works address the social and health-related consequences of environmental change, as well as crimes committed against environmental activists—crimes that occur more frequently in Latin America than in other regions of the world. Women and Indigenous peoples are among the most frequent victims.
By examining ecocritical approaches and the subgenre of the Eco-Thriller, the conference aims to bring the spaces of Latin America into dialogue with those of the Global North.