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WS:"Econarratives: Weaving Nature's Tales through AI and Ecological Resonance" by Dr. Nicola Zengiaro (University of Turin)

When

Jan 27, 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 (Europe/Berlin / UTC100)

Where

Konferenzraum- 001, EG, Otto-Behaghel.Str. 12

Contact Name

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***This event  is co-organised by the Institute of Anglistik, JLU***

This workshop offers a conceptual and practical framework for re-evaluating narrative agency in the human and non-human world. We move beyond conventional theoretical models to propose a distributed form of agency that transcends the traditional dualisms of subject and environment.

We'll start with Jerome Bruner's narrative theory, but immediately expand it to explore how nature itself constructs plots and meanings. This moves us beyond the classic perspectives of Jakob von Uexküll, who localized agency within an organism's Umwelt, and James Gibson, who placed it in the environment's affordances. Instead, we'll posit a third alternative: an agency that emerges from the dynamic, interpretive dialogue among all ecological elements.

In the second part, we introduce Artificial Intelligence as a critical third party in this dialogue. Adopting an ecosemiotic lens, we will test the capabilities of AI to not only analyze but also to decode complex interspecies communication and to reveal the narratives emerging from living systems. This process allows us to uncover stories that are otherwise inaccessible to human perception, bridging our understanding with the non-human world through a technological lens.

The workshop is fundamentally pragmatic, divided into three practical modules: Observation, Listening, and Writing. Through these modules, participants will engage with the principles of Econarrative. Our goal is to demonstrate how nature expresses itself in narrative forms within its complex ecosystemic relationships. This process transforms writing into an active form of participation and resonance. It is a method of discovery that allows us to not only perceive but also contribute to a genuinely ecological semiotics, advancing both research and creative practice in the environmental humanities.

 
 

Important note: this is a preparatory workshop for the following Keynote by Prof. Dr. Martinelli.

 

PLEASE, REGISTER HERE TO ATTEND!