Energy Humanities. Current State and Future Directions

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction

   • Matúš Mišík, Nada Kujundžić

   Pages 1-19

3. Energy and the Humanities

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Towards a Critical Theory of Energy

      • Imre Szeman

      Pages 23-36

   3. Fats and Spirits: A Story of Modern Humanities’ Energy Dependence

      • Dan Tamïr

      Pages 37-51

4. Social and Political Implications of Energy

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 67-67

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   2. Natural Gas in the Process of Eurasian Integration

      • Justin Tomczyk

      Pages 55-65

   3. Natural Gas’ Changing Discourse in European Decarbonisation

      • John Szabo

      Pages 67-88

   4. Best Practices in Effective Climate Policy Implementation, Governance, and Accountability: The UK Committee on Climate Change

      • Michael (Mishka) Lysack

      Pages 89-108

5. Representations of Energy

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 109-109

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   2. Toxicity, Fossil Fuels, and Climate Change in Pionér and Okkupert

      • Tatiana Prorokova-Konrad

      Pages 111-125

   3. Histories of the Present: Tar Sands Photography and Colonial Cultural Production

      • Samantha Spady, Siobhan Angus

      Pages 127-148

   4. The Future Is Nuclear: Energy Weapon in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation

      • Matúš Mišík, Nada Kujundžić

      Pages 149-167

   5. Implicating the ‘Factual’ in U.S. Nuclear Fiction: Nuclear Criticism’s Perspective

      • Inna Sukhenko

      Pages 169-185

   6. The Nuclear Mundane: Geology and the Unthinkable

      • Laura Pannekoek

      Pages 187-198

   7. Conclusion: Where We Are and Where We Are Going

      • Nada Kujundžić, Matúš Mišík

      Pages 199-204

6. Back Matter

   Pages 205-213

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This edited book explicitly deals with the energy humanities, summarising existing knowledge in the area and outlining possible future directions for the nascent field. Assuming a variety of disciplinary stances and using a plethora of methodologies to address a number of pressing energy-related issues, the individual contributions showcase the crucial importance of including the humanities and social sciences into the current discussion on energy. Furthermore, they illustrate one of the central claims of the energy humanities, namely, that energy permeates all aspects of our contemporary modes of existence, and is inextricably linked with historical, political, social, ideological, and cultural issues, relationships, and practices.


Through numerous case studies, Energy Humanities and Energy Transition looks to the past, present, and future in search of examples of best practices and possible models for pathways to a successful energy transition and life ‘after oilʼ. While much of existing research on energy humanities has been criticised for its excessive focus on oil, this book considers a wide range of energy resources, including nuclear energy, renewables, and natural gas. Furthermore, it brings to the forefront under-researched topics such as the colonial legacy inscribed in energy infrastructure and the energy history of the humanities. The contributions in this volume explore not only how the perspectives and expertise of the humanities and social sciences can alter the discourse on energy transition, and our way of thinking about possible solutions and future scenarios, but also how their new focus on energy affects the disciplines themselves.

Energy Humanities and Energy Transition presents a variety of theories, methods, topics, and disciplinary angles, meaning it will be of interest to a wide audience, from practitioners and policy makers, to students and researchers working across the humanities and social sciences. The thematically oriented structure, distinct focus of each individual chapter, and the comprehensive introduction and conclusion that contextualize the contributions within the wider framework of energy transition, make this edited book accessible to readers from many different fields and suitable for various university programs.

• energy humanities
• energy policy
• petrocultures
• energy security
• energy transition
• environmental humanities
• energy geography

• Department of Political Science, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia

  Matúš Mišík

• Department of Folkloristics, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

  Nada Kujundžić

Matúš Mišík is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science at Comenius University in Bratislava. His main research interests include energy security in the EU and the role of perception within EU decision-making mechanisms. He is the author of External Energy Security in the European Union (Routledge, 2019) and has published articles in Nature Energy, Energy, Energy Policy, Geopolitics, Journal of Popular Culture, Comparative European Politics, Asia Europe Journal, etc. He has undertaken research trips to Norway (2006), Kazakhstan (2009), Finland (2009), Great Britain (2011), Austria (2012), and Canada (2015-2016, 2018).


Nada Kujundžićʼs research interests include fairy tales and their adaptations, short prose narratives, popular culture, and childrenʼs literature. She publishes articles and book reviews in Croatian and international journals.

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