Climate change is the defining issue of the 21st century. Yet efforts to communicate the crisis have
historically failed, with misinformation abound and the issue prone to politicization.
This course explores the unique challenges of communicating climate change to the larger public, in light
of both the unique particularities the crisis presents as well as our shifting attention economy and media
landscape. We will delve into analyzing how key actors—from mainstream media outlets to activists to
fossil fuel lobbyists—have shaped the climate conversation, paying close attention to how those actors
have operated historically, how they are changing and what that means for climate coverage today. We
will also analyze the opportunities and risks of emerging mediums, from social media influencers to
streaming platforms, that are increasingly turned to as trusted sites of information, where news is shared
and opinions form.
The course will explore questions such as: what is uniquely challenging about communicating the climate
crisis? How is our media landscape changing and what does that mean for covering climate? Who are the
emerging climate storytellers, what mediums are they using and what stories are they telling? What kinds
of stories and communication tactics are most likely to inspire action? What climate stories are we
ignoring and why?
Course material will include interdisciplinary readings drawn from communication, media and
environmental studies as well as news articles, documentaries and podcasts.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will critically analyze the role of media and emerging mediums in shaping public
attitudes and behaviors towards climate change.
- Students will learn about why climate change has been historically difficult to communicate,
focussing on how journalistic modes of operating along with a strong fossil fuel lobby perpetuated
a “climate silence” in mass media.
- Students will study campaigns by both climate activists and fossil fuel lobbyists, with the goal of
understanding how public perceptions of climate change have and continue to be shaped by
these actors.
- Students will analyze emerging mediums, from social media influencers to streaming platforms,
with the goal of better understanding the risks and opportunities that these new sites of
communication present.
- Students will develop a deeper understanding of climate change as an interconnected issue,
affecting social inequities, health, politics, governance, culture and more
COURSE OVERVIEW
PART I: Traditional Media and the History of Climate Communications
Session 1: Introduction: overview of course content and desired outcomes
Session 2: History of climate silence in media: causes and consequences
Session 3: Whitewashing the climate story: what stories have and continue to be ignored?
Session 4: Best practices: what stories inspire climate denial, apathy or action?
Session 5: The waning trust in mainstream media today: implications for climate communication
PART II: Pressures and Influences on Climate Media
Session 6: Greenwashing: unpacking the communication tactics of fossil fuel industries
Session 7: Climate campaigning and activism: lessons learnt on effective communication
Session 8: Colonialism, capitalism and the climate: how ideology informs climate communication
Session 9: Political discourses: how politicians shape—and are shaped by—climate communication
PART III: Looking Forward: Emerging Frontiers of Climate Communications
Session 10: Emerging climate storytellers: from instagram influencers to streaming platforms
Session 11: Creative climate communication: the rise of climate fiction
Session 12: Imagining our climate futures: the power and perils of solutions journalism
Melissa GODIN
Séminaire
English
Autumn 2024-2025
- Expose - students will each be asked to do a twenty minute presentation on one of the week's
topics, using the reading material to animate the class discussion (30%)
- Communication analysis - students will need to analyze a climate communication product (be
that an activist campaign, a documentary, a media article, an article or a book). Students will
submit a paper on what was or was not effective in the strategies employed (30%)
- Final Project - students will develop a creative climate communication project of their choosing,
selecting both their topic and their medium of communication. Students must submit both a
creative climate project (i.e. a campaign plan, an article, a recorded podcast, etc) along with a
1,200 word paper explaining the strategy behind their project. (40%)