This semester we focus on how to write about and advocate solutions for the climate crisis. The climate crisis is deliberated in a contested public sphere by scientists, politicians, activists, and the fossil fuel industry. To make their arguments, competing advocacy groups deploy different framing and discursive strategies in the global media commons. In order to effectively communicate in this arena, writers and media creators need to recognize how environmental beliefs are tied to identity and values. Thus, being an effective environmental communicator requires targeting and developing appropriate communication strategies that are suitable for intended audiences. This also entails understanding how different media ecosystems work and what makes certain perspectives “sticky” and sharable. We explore the different kinds of filters used by media outlets to determine the range of debate and discussion of the issue. Regardless of the kind of media being utilized—whether memes, editorials, journalism, public service announcements, image events, Instagram posts, or Tik Tok videos—writing is essential for researching, planning, designing, and scripting any climate communication.

There will be some background readings, but this is primarily a practical course similar to COM 221 Writing Across the Media. There will be an assortment of writing and publishing activities focused on the process of researching and communicating about the climate crisis. This involves learning to interpret and analyze environmental communication, as well as learning to communicate in different forms. Students in the course will gain the practical skills of developing an argument through persuasive rhetoric and empirical evidence, combined with visual thinking. Writing activities include weekly blog posts and developing a moral vision statement. We will focus on several case studies and their communication strategies, such as #Keepitintheground, Extinction Rebellion, and #fridaysforthefuture.

•      Improve and hone writing skills for strategic communication.

•      Develop an environmental communication strategy with clear goals.

•      Develop a creative and aesthetic approach to communicating about climate change.

•      Write clearly about climate change in forms and styles appropriate for a variety of media formats.

•      Apply research strategies that are appropriate for communication tasks by Identifying, finding, and verifying authoritative information sources.

•      Become familiar with discourses and linguistic framing used in climate debates.