Read Aslaug Nyrnes’ article Grøn topologi i Kultur & Klasse.
Green topology
A rereading of Virgil’s wheel
Nature is a complex phenomenon; it is both a physical object and a variety of cultural imaginations and representations. The current climate crises challenge the relationship between nature and language in radically new ways. This article examines an example of what we can call the green topology, figures that are part of, and shape the climate course. Virgil’s wheel is a topos from the Middle Age, traced back to the pastoral tradition of Virgil, presenting specific connections between literary style and topography. The question in this article is what perspective on nature is implicit in this thought figure. Do Virgil’s wheel as a topos challenge the dominant view on nature from the Romantic period? Can we understand
Vergil’s wheel in opposition to an anthropocentric world-view? If so, does Vergil’s wheel have ecocritic potential? The article draws on perspectives from ecocritical theory, rhetorical topological theory and Schiller’s philosophy on nature and the sentimental.