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The Powers of Poetry: Creative writing from the Niger Delta as a tool for environmental justice

van Opijnen, Kerime LU (2021) HEKM51 20211
Human Ecology
Abstract
Inspired by centuries of activists who used creative writing as a tool to encourage reflections and inspire change, this thesis looks at the possibility of poetry to be used as an environmental justice tool. In particular the ability of poetry from Nigeria to engage Dutch people with problems around Shell’s exploitation of the Niger Delta and its people, is investigated. Using decolonial and Critical Race Theory frameworks, historical and systemic injustices are discussed. Furthermore, the intersection of the concepts of climate change
denial and slow violence is explored.

Expert interviews and an inductive literature review informed the design of this research, which uses online focus group research and questionnaires as the main... (More)
Inspired by centuries of activists who used creative writing as a tool to encourage reflections and inspire change, this thesis looks at the possibility of poetry to be used as an environmental justice tool. In particular the ability of poetry from Nigeria to engage Dutch people with problems around Shell’s exploitation of the Niger Delta and its people, is investigated. Using decolonial and Critical Race Theory frameworks, historical and systemic injustices are discussed. Furthermore, the intersection of the concepts of climate change
denial and slow violence is explored.

Expert interviews and an inductive literature review informed the design of this research, which uses online focus group research and questionnaires as the main method of data collection. This thesis concludes that poetry has a great potential to help break down colonial and racial inequalities in representation, although poetry is not a form that Dutch people engage with commonly. Even though the external validity of the research is low, it can be concluded that there are four main powers of poetry as an environmental justice tool, namely: creating emotional connections; overcoming distance; addressing overwhelming solutions; and exposing systemic inequalities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
van Opijnen, Kerime LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20211
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Human Ecology, Environmental Justice, Poetry, Writer Activism, Niger Delta, Shell, Decoloniality
language
English
id
9044288
date added to LUP
2021-06-28 12:25:31
date last changed
2021-06-28 12:25:31
@misc{9044288,
  abstract     = {{Inspired by centuries of activists who used creative writing as a tool to encourage reflections and inspire change, this thesis looks at the possibility of poetry to be used as an environmental justice tool. In particular the ability of poetry from Nigeria to engage Dutch people with problems around Shell’s exploitation of the Niger Delta and its people, is investigated. Using decolonial and Critical Race Theory frameworks, historical and systemic injustices are discussed. Furthermore, the intersection of the concepts of climate change
denial and slow violence is explored.

Expert interviews and an inductive literature review informed the design of this research, which uses online focus group research and questionnaires as the main method of data collection. This thesis concludes that poetry has a great potential to help break down colonial and racial inequalities in representation, although poetry is not a form that Dutch people engage with commonly. Even though the external validity of the research is low, it can be concluded that there are four main powers of poetry as an environmental justice tool, namely: creating emotional connections; overcoming distance; addressing overwhelming solutions; and exposing systemic inequalities.}},
  author       = {{van Opijnen, Kerime}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Powers of Poetry: Creative writing from the Niger Delta as a tool for environmental justice}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}