This article defines solastalgia as the distress people feel when the environment of a place they still call home changes in unwanted ways.
It describes the causes of solastalgia, including climate-driven environmental change, natural disasters, pollution, mining, war, and neighborhood change, and the mix of emotions it can bring.
Before reading, begin with a discussion about the places we call home and how it feels to be there.
After reading, invite students to reflect in writing on a place meaningful to them and how environmental change might affect their sense of connection to it.
Interdisciplinary Connections:
Art:
Like Munch, invite students to create and showcase art that represents their feelings of solastalgia or makes evident the impact of climate change on the places they call home.
Use this activity guide to lead an analysis and reflection of visual artists' representations of the climate crisis.
Language Arts:
Use the term "solastalgia" as a jumping-off point to discuss how new words emerge in language in response to what people are collectively experiencing.
Have students create their own new word based on their feelings about the climate crisis or another global issue.
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