Müge Gedik

Water narratives function as cultural assets that mediate human-environment interactions and challenge dominant ecological paradigms. They can contribute to eco-cultural sustainability efforts that are socially embedded, historically informed, and globally connected. Centered around the Turkish coast of the Eastern Mediterranean in comparison with Caribbean contexts, my research explores how water narratives document the shift from small-scale to industrial fishing, situate islands as sites of ecological resilience, and imagine climate futures that propose alternative relationships with ecosystems. I examine how literature registers the cultural dimensions of environmental issues and reconfigures human relationships with water, animals, and technology. From this perspective, I seek to answer how sustainability efforts can integrate water narratives as cultural assets, spaces for environmental awareness, and essential components of intergenerational social well-being and resilience. Bridging comparative literary studies, environmental history, and sustainability science and practice, my research contributes to the growing interdisciplinary field of Environmental Humanities.