u/Familiar_Source_1526

Hi r/solarpunk,

I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Kerala, India working on something I think this community will recognise instinctively: fantasy literature as a training ground for ecological imagination.

Tolkien's Shire can be restored. Jemisin's Stillness must be endured. Sanderson's Roshar adapts to perpetual storms. VanderMeer's Area X refuses human interpretation. These are four very different "ecological grammars" — and they may teach readers to feel very differently about the real ecological crises we're living through.

I've built a short pilot survey to test this. **6–8 minutes, fully anonymous, ethics-approved.** You'll read one ~500-word excerpt and share your response.

Two versions — please pick by birth month:

- **Jan–June:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekTjBW_pTIYFnhKznrqGY8ugoumXKXyaCHnALqS0woOAuK7g/viewform

- **July–Dec:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSZCLCB0Vi_yHh6tuQJYHZ3m19AUWC87us1cOvJrpaYfMlOw/viewform

Given this sub's interest in how we imagine and build ecological futures, your responses would be especially valuable. I'll share findings back here when the pilot closes.

Thanks!

Hi r/SampleSize,

I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Kerala, India studying how fantasy literature shapes readers' environmental imagination — the sense of connection to nature, perceptions of nonhuman agency, and emotional responses to ecological themes.

**What's involved:** 6–8 minutes, fully anonymous. You'll read a short ~500-word passage from a fantasy novel and answer questions about your response. Ethics-approved through the University of Kerala.

**Two versions — please pick based on your birth month** to help balance the sample:

- **Born January to June:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekTjBW_pTIYFnhKznrqGY8ugoumXKXyaCHnALqS0woOAuK7g/viewform

- **Born July to December:** https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSZCLCB0Vi_yHh6tuQJYHZ3m19AUWC87us1cOvJrpaYfMlOw/viewform

No incentives, no email collected. Happy to share aggregate findings back here once the study closes.

Thanks so much!

[Academic research] How does fantasy fiction shape our ecological imagination? A 7-minute PhD survey

[Academic] Fantasy readers and environmental imagination (18+, English readers, 6-8 minutes, anonymous)