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The course is designed for MA students who are interested in the intersection of humanities, social sciences and ecology. No prior knowledge of the subject is a prerequisite.
The course consists of two modules. First, we will review different forms, actors and platforms of environmental communication (i.e. news media, political communication, pop cultural artefacts, social media etc.) and possible methods for their analysis (i.e. rhetorical analysis, critical discourse analysis). Next students will work in groups of 3-4 to identify the local level form of a global environmental problem to be addressed as a project for the rest of the course (e.g. Farmer’s protests in various EU countries as represented in news media, climate activist groups’ communication in Eastern Europe, visual communication surrounding construction of new nuclear power plants in France etc. ). The research-based project aims to explore the material and discursive aspects of the problem, the actors shaping it, while taking into account the three pillars of sustainability. The course aims to engage students in environmental communication, through a project based on their own choice and interest.
Introduction
Overview of the course syllabus, discussing the main requirements and outlines of the group projects. Familiarisation with online tools for learning and communication, e.g. project work aids and resources, course themes, bibliographies etc. Explanation of the evaluation criteria.
How to define the environment
A historical overview of cultural changes regarding the concept of nature and the environment. What economic, social or environmental processes have shaped the relationship between human and nature? Why is the idea of exploitation and domination of nature (i.e.the capitalist economic system ) rooted in Europe? When and why did the idea of protecting the environment arise?
An introduction to the field of environmental communication
In contrast to critical categories of social oppression and inequality such as race, gender or class, has the issue of nature belatedly become a focus of cultural studies. What is the reason for this? What is environmental communication concerned with, what is ecocriticism and green cultural studies? The pragmatic and constitutive functions of environmental communication. Environmental communication as a crisis and care discipline. Is or should science be value neutral?
Research methods
From ecocriticism, through critical discourse analysis to rhetorical analysis. An overview of the most common research methods when analysing environmental discourse.
“Nature will be fine”- the far right and the environment
Authoritarian and populist political configurations are on the rise globally, which has alarming results for the environment. Exploring the commonalities of these regimes regarding their environmental politics and ideological ties to nationalism as well as their ambiguous relationship to neoliberal capitalism. The case of Poland and Hungary.
Project set up- first group presentation
Each group presents its project plan to the other students. Which environmental phenomenon or problem do they want to reflect
At the end of the course, students will be able to critically examine environmental communication in a meaningful way, identifying the actors and underlying power structures that determine it and develop effective communication strategies to adress environmental issues in their complexity.
The course is designed for MA students who are interested in the intersection of humanities, social sciences and ecology. No prior knowledge of the subject is a prerequisite.
Cantrill, J. (2015). Social sciences approach to environment, media and communication. In A.Hansen & R. Cox(eds).The Routledge Handbook of Environment and Communication(pp.49-62). Routledge
Clark, J. (2015). Selling with Gaia. Advertising and the natural world. In S., Cubitt, S., Monani & S., Rust (Eds.). Ecomedia. Routledge
Hansen, A. (2017). Using visual images to show environmental problems. In A.F. Fill & H. Penz (eds.). The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 179-195). Routledge.
Hochman, J. (1997). Green cultural studies: an introductory critique of an emerging discipline. Mosaic: A journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature, 81-96.
Jacobsson, D. (2019). In the Name of (Un)Sustainability: A Critical Analysis of How
Neoliberal Ideology Operates Through Discourses About Sustainable Progress and Equality.
TripleC 17(1), 19-37.
McCarthy, J. (2019) Authoritarianism, Populism, and the Environment:
Comparative Experiences, Insights, and Perspectives, Annals of the American Association of
Geographers, 109(2), 301-307, https://10.1080/24694452.2018.1554393
McLean, M. L. (2023, August 30). Why did tourists keep coming as Rhodes and Maui burned? It’s about far more than denial. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/30/tourists-rhodes-maui-burned-travel?utm_term=64f073df04791014327a3078482f0ee2&utm_campaign=DownToEarth&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=greenlight_email
Pattberg, P. (2007). Conquest, domination and control: Europe’s mastery of nature in historic perspective. Journal of Political Ecology, 14(1), 1-9.
Peeples, J., & Murphy, M. (2015). Discourse and rhetorical analysis approaches to environment, media, and communication. In A.Hansen & R. Cox (eds.). The Routledge handbook of environment and communication (pp. 39-49). Routledge.
Pezzullo, P. C., & Cox, R. (2018). Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere (5th Ed.). SAGE.
Pulido, L., Bruno, T., Faiver-Serna, C. & Galentine, C.(2019). Environme
Lectures and seminars dominate the first part of the semester, when discussing the theoretical foundations of the topic. Group based project work characterises the second half of the course.
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Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
