Environmental Communication

Catalog description

ENVST 425W Environmental Communication (3). Environmental communication is an increasingly important specialty within the discipline of communication, and a critical topic for students interested in participating in environment-related discourse as policy advocates, subject-matter experts, journalists, strategic communication professionals, or citizen-stakeholders. In this course, students will learn (1) how the environment is constructed and contested as an idea in public discourse, via news, current events, and popular culture; (2) how individuals, organizations, and authorities engage in environmental discourse, and to what ends; and (3) how environmental policy advocates and entrepreneurs attempt to enlist and mobilize publics via communication campaigns. Students will learn to design and critique environmental messages. Methods of assessment center on the production of informative, persuasive, and reflective environmental messages in a variety of textual forms and genres to develop practical communication skills. Class size is limited to 10 students. This course may be substituted for ENVST 400W with program approval.