Towards ‘Nesting’ in the Environmental Humanities: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Narratives Across Theory and Practices

Which processes allow for a more effective employment of narratives as tools for fostering actual individual and collective transformation in civil society in response to current environmental crises? This article proposes ‘nesting’ as both a concept and a methodology in the development, execution, and evaluation of narrative-based workshops designed for direct and conscious engagement between local communities and global manifestations of climate change. After offering a critical examination of the semantic and metaphorical dimensions of ‘nesting,’ the first part of the article illustrates ‘nesting’ as a concept serving as a theoretical and applied framework for selecting and interpreting texts based on their potential to inspire reflections and practices of ‘homebuilding’ and ‘engagement.’ The second part examines ‘nesting’ as a methodology – proposed as an educational framework – to provide guidance on practical engagements with selected narratives and local communities. It outlines a step-by-step procedure for developing narrative-based workshops structured around four key terms: narrating, embodying, sensing, and transmitting.