Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environmental Analysis

Reader 1

Melinda Herrold-Menzies

Reader 2

Mita Banerjee

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2023 Hava Chishti

Abstract

The psychological concept of grief, although not typically associated with climate change, has strong applications to the emotional processing of climate change for human beings. Grief can be related to climate change in many ways, including the grief that individuals may feel over the anticipated loss of their future, losses that may be experienced due to climate-related disasters, and grief for the overall implications of anthropogenic climate change. A mixture of traditional literature analysis and creative nonfiction essays, which focus on personal narratives from interviews and the author’s experience, are used to outline the ways in which the psychology of climate grief can intersect with the many facets of life. Specific types of grief, expert analyses, and personal stories demonstrate the various manifestations of climate grief. Creative essays, an outline and analysis of climate-aware therapy, and an explanation of the relevance of mourning rituals across various cultures provide insight in how to manage climate grief. The personal narratives feature the perspectives of Professors in the Environmental Analysis and Environmental Science fields at the Claremont Colleges, as well as several students studying Environmental Analysis at Pitzer College. This project provides a foundation that describes the importance of climate grief, but it also uses creative nonfiction writing as a tool to connect with the readers and evoke an emotional reading experience, perhaps providing some comfort and guidance to those struggling with climate grief themselves.

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