#COTTAGECORE Online Rural and Climate Imaginaries

This chapter explores Cottagecore as an online aesthetic and cultural phenomenon romanticizing rural life. By analyzing its representation of rurality, sustainability, and nostalgia, the chapter investigates how Cottagecore both reflects and reshapes contemporary desires for simplicity in the face of urban and environmental anxieties, and, from 2019 to 2022, the Covid-19 pandemic. Through critically examining Cottagecore’s representations and speculative reinterpretations of life in the countryside, this study contributes to broader discussions on rural imaginaries, offering insights into how digital platforms mediate visions of rural futures.