NEWS PhD candidate Lena Leimgruber was invited to a symposium on Special Education to present her research on Arctic literature and speculative fiction.
At a recent symposium on Special Education taking place at Umeå University on 19–20 February, PhD candidate Lena Leimgruber (Department of Language Studies, associated researcher at the Arctic Centre and the Arctic Graduate School) was invited to present her research on Arctic literature and speculative fiction. The presentation explored how literary narratives shape perceptions of the Arctic, engaging with themes of climate change, colonial histories and cultural transformation.
Lena Leimgruber is a PhD candidate in English Literature, researching (speculative) fiction and its representations of Arctic environmental and cultural change. Her work examines how literature imagines alternative realities and engages with pressing questions of climate change and colonial legacies.
“My project focuses on speculative fiction, a genre that explores 'what if' scenarios based on present realities. I analyse literary representations of the Arctic to understand how fiction shapes our engagement with environmental and cultural transformation,” she explains.
The research is guided by key questions such as how speculative fiction represents environmental and cultural change in the Arctic. But also how these narratives engage with colonial, postcolonial and neo-colonial structures and, very importantly, whose climate and colonial apocalypse is framed, and how.
So, what if the way we tell stories about the Arctic shapes what happens next?
Primary sources include selected Arctic fiction — novels and short stories that depict the region’s evolving landscapes and histories. Some of the works examined in the project include The North Water by Ian McGuire and Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice.
The presentation opened with literary quotes depicting the Arctic as a cold, inhospitable landscape dominated by ice — common portrayals found across various forms of media. Lena then highlighted the complexities of defining the Arctic, both geographically and culturally, and emphasised its significance as a rapidly warming region.
One of the central takeaways of the presentation was the idea that the stories we tell about the Arctic may influence its future.
“So, what if the way we tell stories about the Arctic shapes what happens next?” she asks.
Lena Leimgruber presents at the symposium.
Image Kim Wickman
The discussion also raised questions about research methodology, particularly where theoretical approaches transition into methodological frameworks — an aspect that sparked insightful feedback from the symposium participants based in the field of Special Education.
Leimgruber concluded the presentation with a literary passage from Ed Loughlin’s novel Minds of Winter that offers a striking image of Arctic beauty:
“Above and beyond [the mountains] gleamed the dome of the ice-cap, also floating in blue air. The sun, now nearing the horizon, wore a halo which was set, at its cardinal points, with smaller, sharper copies of itself. [...] All these tricks of the polar light. I wonder if one could ever grow tired of them” (p. 101).
Through her research, Leimgruber continues to explore how literature not only reflects but actively shapes our understanding of the Arctic in a time of rapid environmental change. The symposium reminded her that interdisciplinary exchange is so important to researchers:
“I felt like an impostor presenting at this Special Education symposium. I was interested in the keynote presentations and as a university teacher, I think we need to keep learning about what is happening, which is why I signed up. So, I was not sure what to expect. Participants were very interested in hearing more about the Arctic and literary fiction about it and asked many questions that can help me think differently about my project. But it also reminded me why this is such an important topic to talk and write about”, she concludes.