The Elfriede Jelinek and Sustainable Development Mini Symposium will focus on Nobel Laureate Elfriede Jelinek's perspective on the environment, including environmental pollution, environmental destruction, destruction of the Alps through tourism and skiing, deforestation, the climate crisis, climate activism, environmental protection, the use of fossil fuels, renewable energy, sustainable development, economic factors, market economy, capitalism, meat production and consumption, luxury fashion, fast fashion, gender inequality, armed conflict, wars, war refugees and climate refugees, humans and their relationship to other animals and plants as well as their role as part of and within nature.

Invited scholars will investigate ecofeminist approaches, material ecofeminism, ecocritical theory, and other methodological approaches to shed more light on Jelinek’s relationship to nature and sustainable development, as well as her texts’ perspectives on human behavior towards nature and other living beings on the planet. During the symposium, Jelinek's plays, novels, and essays will be used as an entry point for discussion.

The Elfriede Jelinek and Sustainable Development Mini Symposium aims to explore a gap in the research on her work and add to previously published research such as the short entry by Christian von der Steeg on “Natur” in the Elfriede Jelinek Handbuch (2013). We will investigate aspects of the author’s work that are aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). These include goals such as quality education (#4), gender equality (#5), reduced inequalities (#10), responsible consumption and production (#12), climate action (#13), peace, justice, and strong institutions (#16), and others.

The symposium is co-sponsored by the Interuniversitäres Forschungsnetzwerk Elfriede Jelinek and the Elfriede Jelinek-Forschungszentrum.