Communications and the Environment

This course examines the role of the mass media in environmental communication and how that influences public opinion on environmental issues. Students conduct original research, examining mass media output on a single environmental issue from sources representing two different ideologies (e.g. liberal/conservative, US/UK, US/Australia, etc.). Goals are to recognize a) our environmental views are constructed by mass media; b) specific ideological perspectives will present environmental views consistent with those ideologies, suggesting that environmental perspectives are ideologically driven; c) public opinion results from mass media representations of the environment; d) social movement tensions result from diverse values and ideological perspectives in play.