Teaching climate change with young adult fiction: Raising awareness with Alexandra Kleeman’s Something New Under the Sun

Abstract

This thesis focuses on Alexandra Kleeman’s novel Something New Under the Sun (2021), a work of climate fiction, and explores ways to teach it. The thesis investigates how capitalism and privatization are drivers of climate change in light of the novel, and how the issue serves as ideas for integrating climate change into the English curriculum (ENG01-04). The thesis asserts that teachers of all disciplines are responsible for raising pupils’ environmental awareness and that English language novels are well-suited to fulfill this curricular requirement. Furthermore, English teachers have a valuable role to play in understanding and addressing the climate crisis through their area of literary expertise. Through an ecological lens, the thesis examines Kleeman’s novel and highlights its potential to engage young adult readers with its realistic interpretation of a world impacted by climate change. Overall, the theory emphasizes how works of climate fiction, including Something New Under the Sun, have the capacity to effectively address environmental issues and help cultivate a deeper understanding of the urgent need for sustainability.