With the advent of globalization, new realities have emerged that significantly impact the planet—particularly the ecological sphere. In this climate of instability, a global crisis is intensifying, quickly becoming a defining feature of the contemporary era. The visible ecological crisis can be understood as a consequence of the disruption in the relationship between humans and the environment around them. Political wars, often manifesting as armed conflicts, are undoubtedly a major cause of this disruption. Faced with the scale of the irreparable environmental damage threatening our very existence, literature cannot remain indifferent. By immediately engaging with reality, literature contributes to ecological awareness and the consciousness raising. This study aims to demonstrate that literary fiction serves as a bridge to repair the broken connection between humans and their environment, laying the groundwork for a new way of living together. To this end, it will focus on four contemporary literary works: La Mue by Georges Corm (1992), Petroleum by Bessora (2004), Unterleuten by Juli Zeh (2016), and Nous sommes l’étincelle by Vincent Villeminot (2019). Exploring the imaginaries of each selected author will serve as a guide for rethinking the bond between humans and the spaces they inhabit.
DR. HANINE JASSAR
CURRICULUM VITAE
Hanine Jassar holds a doctorate in French literature. She has been a professor of French language at the Lebanese University and has taught at various schools. In April 2024, she defended a dissertation at Saint Joseph University of Beirut focusing on the themes of deterritorialization and hybridity in contemporary francophone novels. Her current research examines representations related to the notions of territory, identity, and the ecological crisis in the contemporary era. She has participated in two international conferences: “Fragments et reconstructions littéraires du Liban: mémoires, représentations, identités,” held in September 2023 at the University of Parma, and “Territoires, sociétés et individus d’entre-deux,” held in April 2024 at CY Cergy Paris University. She is also a member of the LACLib (Literature, Arts, and Cinema of Lebanon) research laboratory, affiliated with the University of Parma, which focuses on multidisciplinary research about Lebanon.
