Bad Environmentalism: Irony and Irreverance in the Ecological Age

By Nicole Seymour. University of Minnesota Press. 2018. Bad Environmentalism

Traces a tradition of ironic and irreverent environmentalism, asking us to rethink the movement’s reputation for gloom and doom.

Nicole Seymour develops the concept of “bad environmentalism”: cultural thought that employs dissident affects and sensibilities to reflect critically on our current moment and on mainstream environmental activism. Funny and original, Bad Environmentalism champions the practice of alternative green politics and expands our understanding of how environmental art and activism can be pleasurable, even in a time of undeniable crisis.

Bad Environmentalism confronts serious environmental problems by way of ‘unserious’ texts. Nicole Seymour takes on complex ideas with lucidity, economy, and a witty sense of humor. Against the familiar affects that tend to characterize both environmentalism and environmental studies—such as awe, love, guilt, reverence, and earnestness—Bad Environmentalism pits less solemn alternatives, including playfulness, impropriety, irreverence, irony, frivolity, and glee. I am a convert. Bad environmentalists, unite!”
— Jennifer K. Ladino, author of Reclaiming Nostalgia: Longing for Nature in American Literature

Read her blog posts related to the writing of this book:

At the Edge Effects website, “Citation in the #MeToo Era

At the University of Minnesota blog, “Quitting the Environmental Shame Game