Ecomedia

In its most basic sense, “ecomedia” (a contraction of “ecological media”) is shorthand for representations of and communication about the human and natural environment in media beyond traditional print. A more general category than eco-art, with which it shares many concerns, ecomedia includes environmentally engaged film, television, music, visual arts, installation and conceptual art, as well as work in new-media venues like web pages, video games, and mobile operating systems. Because the term is currently used more often by scholars than by cultural producers, its most immediate value is to facilitate discussion of environmental representation both within new media studies and across the traditional disciplines constructed around single media (literature, art history, film studies, etc.). Under the ecomedia umbrella, a diverse array of creative and critical projects that may have struggled for recognition within their home disciplines can be presented together in exhibitions, book series, special journal issues, and even graduate programs. The advent of an ecomedia blogosphere where scholars can make connections with one another and with a broader readership is already one happy outcome of this relatively recent coinage.