UCLA professor wins British Society for Literature and Science’s annual book prize

IoES and Department of English Professor Ursula Heise has been awarded this year’s British Society for Literature and Science (BSLS) prize for best book in the field of literature and science published in 2016. Her book, “Imagining Extinction: The Cultural Meanings of Endangered Species,” explores extinction, endangered species and wildlife conservation through the lens of culture and storytelling. The BSLS judging committee praised the scope and rigor of the book, calling the read “beautiful, absorbing, and brilliantly argued and vividly illustrated with an astonishing variety of sources and media.”

Heise’s research and teaching focuses on contemporary literature, environmental culture, narrative and media theory, literature and science, and science fiction. She is part of a campus-wide effort at the University to promote environmental humanities, the interdisciplinary subject that addresses relations between environmental science and social literature, history and media.