A
- Anthropocene
- This term, coined in the 21st century, indicates the geological phase following the Holocene. It is characterised by human beings playing a dominant role as a force capable of shaping the processes and transformations of the Earth system.
C
- Chthulucene
- This term was coined by Donna Haraway as an alternative to the term 'Anthropocene'. It critiques the human-centred framing of the Anthropocene, which reinforces ideas of human supremacy and exceptionalism. The Chthulucene emphasises the importance of entanglement, interdependence and multispecies coexistence in order to imagine more liveable futures beyond destructive, human-centred narratives.
- Climate Change
- Long-term alteration of global climate patterns, largely caused by human activities.
- Climate Fiction (cli-fi)
- A narrative mode or genre addressing climate change in speculative or realistic terms.
- Climate Migration
- Population movements caused by climate change and extreme weather events.
- Cyborg
- A hybrid of organism and machine, symbolizing the breakdown of nature/culture dichotomies.
D
- Dystopia
- An imagined society marked by injustice, oppression, or ecological and social collapse.
E
- Eco-Anxiety
- Anxiety related to the climate and environmental crisis, marked by concern for the planet’s future.
- Eco-Horror
- Fiction that depicts fears related to the natural world and the non-human.
- Ecocriticism
- An interdisciplinary field that examines representations of nature, the environment and the relationship between human and nonhuman subjects in literary, artistic, and cultural works, focusing on the relationship between texts, ecology, and society.
- Ecofeminism
- A theoretical and political movement linking the critique of patriarchy with the critique of environmental exploitation.
- Ecology
- The science of relationships between organisms and their environment.
- Ecophobia
- Fear, hostility, or alienation toward nature.
- Environmental Humanities
- It is an interdisciplinary field that combines the traditional humanities, the social sciences, and the environmental sciences.
H
- Hyperobject
- Timothy Morton’s concept for vast, distributed entities (e.g., climate change) that transcend human perception and control.
L
- Landscape
- A cultural and perceptual construct of natural and human-shaped space.
M
- Matter (New Materialism)
- Matter is active, endowed with “agency,” capable of influencing processes and relations.
N
- Naturecultures
- A concept by Donna Haraway that challenges the rigid divide between “nature” and “culture,” viewing them as intertwined and co-constructed dimensions.
- Non-human
- That which is not human: animals, plants, objects, technologies, natural or artificial entities.
O
- Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO)
- A philosophy granting objects autonomous existence beyond human perception.
P
- Plantationocene
- A term describing an era shaped by the exploitation of natural resources, monoculture farming, and forced labor in plantation economies. It highlights how these practices, rooted in colonialism and capitalism, have caused lasting environmental and social impacts.
- Political Ecology
- It is the study of socio-ecological conflicts and environmental injustices.
- Posthuman
- A condition beyond classical humanism, redefining human identity in relation to non-human subjects, technology and the environment.
S
- Science Fiction
- A narration or representation of fantastical events that are apparently or partially based on scientific elements.
- Solarpunk
- A narrative and aesthetic trend that imagines optimistic, sustainable and ecological futures, in which humanity lives in harmony with nature, powered by renewable energy and guided by egalitarian community values.
- Speculative Fiction
- Fiction that explores plausible futures based on real possibilities.
T
- Transhuman
- A movement advocating the enhancement of human capacities through advanced technologies.
U
- Utopia
- An imagined vision of a perfect and harmonious society, often used as a critical lens on the present.
W
- Wasteocene
- Marco Armiero’s concept of an epoch defined by waste production and environmental injustice.
#
- Ability to act; for Bruno Latour, agency is not limited to humans—objects, animals, and technologies also act within social networks.