B9948 - MEDIA AND CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION

Learning outcomes

The course aims to explore how media and social media contribute to the social construction and public perception of climate change by different audiences. Students will therefore be provided with theoretical elements for understanding the interaction between media, imagery and climate change and empirical tools for analyzing narratives and visual representations of the phenomenon (module 1), as well as for planning communication and awareness-raising actions in this area (module 2).

At the end of the course, the student: knows the fundamentals and main issues of social communication on climate change and the dynamics that govern its newsworthiness in mainstream information; knows how to use the fundamental concepts in this field; knows and can apply methodological approaches and tools useful for planning and implementing communication actions aimed at raising awareness of different actors and social institutions on this issue.

Course contents

The course aims to explore how media and social media contribute to the social construction and public perception of climate change, through the interpretive and explanatory frameworks proper to the sociology of cultural and communication processes.

After tracing the processes through which climate change comes to emerge as a social problem, also in light of the debate on the Anthropocene, students will be guided to critically analyze different narratives and representations of the phenomenon, understood as case studies, found within institutional reports, documentaries, podcasts, Instagram profiles, social media campaigns, etc.

By examining how such narratives are produced, circulated and contested in the public space, the implications of these narratives in relation to policy responses and citizen engagement in the ecological transition will be discussed.

Readings/Bibliography

Readings for the exam consist of:

- Ghosh A. (2016), The Great Derangement. Climate Change and the Unthinkable. University of Chicago Press.

- Priest S. (2016), Communicating Climate Change. The Path Forward, Palgrave MacMillan [Only Chapter 1].
[Those who choose to present individual or group work in the classroom do not need to study this chapter for the exam]

- Moser S. (2010), Communicating Climate Change: History, Challenges, Process, and Future Directions, in «WIREs Climate Change», 1: 31-53, https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.11

- Wang et al. (2018), Public engagement with climate imagery in a changing digital landscape, in «WIREs Climate Change», 9(2), https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wcc.509

- Demos T.J. (2017), Against the Anthropocene: Visual Culture and Environment Today. Sternberg Press. [Only Chapter 1]

 

The teacher will share on Virtuale all excerpts and articles in pdf, except for Ghosh, whose entire volume is required to be read.

Teaching methods

Teaching is carried out through lectures and seminar activities, including laboratory-based activities.
The lecturer will make use of multimedia tools and materials (movies, podcasts, etc.) in order to provide more stimuli for learning.

The course favors an approach based on active teaching: students will be required to participate in moments of classroom discussion, analysis of case studies, group work.

Seminar activities may host the intervention of experts and professionals in the field.

Assessment methods

The assessment methods consists of an oral interview on the texts indicated in the course bibliography, aimed at testing the student's abilities regarding comprehension, analysis, and critical reworking of the subject of study.

For ATTENDING STUDENTS only:
at his or her discretion, the attending student will have the option of substituting part of the oral examination (with relief on the titles in the bibliography) by submitting individual or group work. In this case, the overall grade will be given by:

- 40% presentation of individual or pair work (max 2 people per group) on one of the topics covered in the course, to be agreed with the teacher.

- 60% oral examination on the topics covered in the lectures and deepened through the study of the bibliography.


For NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS, verification of learning consists of an oral interview on the texts indicated in the course bibliography.


Grading will vary from excellent (30 and L) to very good (30) to good (29-27) to fair (26-24) to more than sufficient (23-21) to sufficient (21-18) or insufficient based on the student's ability to be able to articulate knowledge accurately, comprehensively and reflectively/critically or in a confused, incomplete and approximate manner.

 

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity -- ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Teaching tools

Lectures will be accompanied by the use of slides, audiovisual materials and other digital tools.

The slides projected in lectures will be made available to students via the Virtuale - LearningEnvironment platform.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Cappi