Teaching as Activism in Higher Education: Fostering Climate Crisis Awareness through Literary Engagement- A case study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/vjx7ff47Keywords:
Ecocriticism pedagogy, climate crisis awareness, literature and activism, sustainable developmental goals.Abstract
This paper explores the transformative potential of teaching literature as a form of activism to cultivate awareness and critical engagement with the climate crisis, aligning with the aims of the United Nations’ SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). As global environmental concerns increases, the need for educational initiatives that promote ecological literacy and enable students to become environmentally conscious citizens has been more pressing. A descriptive quantitative design was employed in a university-level poetry course, where selected works by Muhammad Haji Salleh and E-Wen Chong were integrated into the syllabus to examine students' perspectives on the use of ecocritical poetry to raise awareness of the climate crisis and to explore pedagogical approaches that effectively foster awareness of climate change and SDG goals. Data were obtained using a questionnaire that was validated by two experts to verify its content and context validity. The study revealed that the teaching of literature from the lens of activist increases students’ emotional and intellectual engagement with environmental issues and promotes sustainable thinking aligned with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The study also emphasises the crucial roles of educators not as knowledge transmitter, also as agents of change who educate learners to disrupt dominant narratives and foster ecological empathy through literary texts. By transforming literature classrooms into a space of resistance and awareness-building, the study posits that climate-themed texts can function as powerful tools of activism that is able to mediate personal insight with collective accountability. This research contributes to the expanding field of environmental humanities and offers practical insights for the implementation of climate pedagogy in higher education.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Erda Wati Bakar, Dr. Kamarul Ariffin Ahmad
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