Moving Beyond the Page: Climate Anxiety and the Embodied Literary Experience

Literacy Unbound Workshop at Credo High School, Summer 2023

In our work with teachers on climate change, we have found that climate anxiety tends to be at the top of the list of ‘what abouts?’ or questions that signal deep concerns about discussing difficult topics with students. Climate anxiety is distress about climate change and, according to a global survey, most young people report experiencing it. They describe their emotions as sad, anxious, angry, powerless, helpless, and guilty. And nearly half of respondents in the survey (45%) said their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. 

So, how do we best explore emotional responses to humanity’s impact on the environment in classrooms? In our climate futurism work, we have discovered that embodied literary exploration is essential. By that, we mean participatory reading strategies that encourage us to break free of those ‘brainbound’ traditions of literary study that exclusively privilege the analytical mind and intellect over all else. We have come to believe that by engaging the body, voice, and physical movement—we tap into intuitive understandings that complement—and even transcend—intellectual analysis. These methods invite students to experience literature not just as an intellectual exercise but as something lived and felt in the body. When we read with our bodies—through gestures, rhythm, and space—we connect the text to the physical world, building a profound emotional resonance with its themes.

As teachers, we build into and around a shared literary text, expanding the book into an improvisational world. We invite students to step onto and off the page, speak a character’s words aloud, embody metaphors, and work through ethical dilemmas to connect to the emotional depth of a text.

These physical expressions often reveal truths that words alone might miss, opening up parts of ourselves that a purely analytical approach might overlook. When we engage with a text in this way, we create space for a more instinctive and visceral response—one that allows us to feel the total weight of emotions and the possibility of renewal on a deeply personal and embodied level.

This 'living the book' approach also creates shared, communal experiences. Moving together in collaboration, we cultivate empathy, which is critical to exploring emotionally charged subjects like climate anxiety. As we step away from the more traditional desk-bound individualism and into the collective space, we strengthen the ties between people, and this embodied work becomes a way of building community. The shared physical and emotional experience of literary exploration fosters a sense of connection—vital in cultivating the hope we need in the face of an uncertain future.