New Faculty of Arts Research Cluster Addresses Climate Change Through Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Climate change is widely recognised as one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Globally, the past decade has been the warmest on record, while the Mediterranean region, including Malta, is warming faster than the global average.

Yet climate change is not only a scientific or technological issue. It is also a question of how societies understand, communicate and respond to environmental change. The language used in policy debates, the stories told about landscapes and seas, and the cultural values attached to nature all play a crucial role in shaping public awareness, human-nature relationships and action.

Responding to this challenge, the Faculty of Arts at the University of Malta has launched a new research cluster: DECC – Discourses of the Environment and Climate Change.

Spearheaded by academics in the fields of Languages, Linguistics, Literary and Culture Studies, the cluster includes members from a wide range of disciplines, including Sociology, Tourism Studies, Theatre Studies, Geosciences, Earth Systems, Archaeology, Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability. This diversity allows the cluster to explore how environmental issues are articulated across cultures, languages and regions.

As a humanities-led response to the climate crisis, DECC emphasises the critical role that the Humanities must play in addressing the climate crisis. 

By integrating empirical, linguistic, literary and cultural analysis, among others, research within the cluster aims to foster a cultural transformation in the way climate change is discussed and addressed while empowering public discourse, informing policymaking and translating academic research into practical and sustainable outcomes.

The cluster’s work is organised around three core research pillars, each exploring environmental discourse from a different perspective.

1.     Pillar I: Discourses of Environmental Politics
   Examining political and public discourse related to environmental issues and climate change.
2.       Pillar II: Changing Islands and Seas
   Analysing literary, filmic, kinesthetic and oral narratives about environmental change across languages, cultures and genres. 
3.     Pillar III: Environmental Futures
   Exploring the language and conceptual frameworks through which environmental futures are discussed and taught.

Beyond academia, DECC is also developing partnerships with external stakeholders such as the government entity ERA and the Gozitan NGO Għawdix, strengthening the connection between academic research and societal needs. 

The cluster is chaired by Dr Katrin Dautel, with Prof. Stavros Assimakopoulos serving as Vice-Chair. To support its activities, two Research Support Officers (RSOs) at doctoral and postdoctoral level will join the team from 1 April 2026, assisting with administration, research coordination and the development of future funding applications.

DECC will be formally introduced during a launch event on 24 March, featuring a series of short presentations. The event will open with a welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, followed by an overview of the cluster by Dr Dautel and Professor Assimakopoulos.

Leaders of the cluster’s individual pillars and projects will then present brief insights into their ongoing research, offering a first glimpse into the diverse work that DECC will undertake.

By bringing together scholars from across disciplines and perspectives, the DECC Research Cluster represents a significant step in strengthening interdisciplinary climate research at the University of Malta and demonstrating the essential role of the Humanities in addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time.