Introduction to environmental communication - Understanding and addressing environmental challenges from a communication perspective
Environmental communication is an integral part of environmental management and sustainability transformations. Processes and outcomes of communication play a central role in understanding and addressing environmental challenges such as climate change, unsustainable lifestyles and exploitation of natural resources, and in shaping human-nature relationships. Through lectures, workshops, literature studies and group work, this course offers an introduction to social scientific perspectives for understanding environmental communication as it occurs in everyday life, including casual conversations, environmental campaigns and policies, as well as in multi-stakeholder decision-making. The course brings forward the importance of understanding environmental communication as both instrumental and constitutive. This broadens the traditional understanding of communication as the transmission of expert knowledge and information, and emphasizes the role that communication plays in creating and transforming the knowledge, values, norms and practices that shape today’s sustainability and environmental issues. The course includes practical components designed to deepen students´ understanding of theoretical perspectives and to develop practical skills, usually through interactive workshops and group work. These components involve producing environmental communication artefacts and facilitating dialogue processes between different perspectives.
The course has several mandatory activities that require in person attendance (see Information from course leader and Schedule)
Information from the course leader
Important: Please visit this page regularly for updates and more information before the course starts.
2025-07-04
Welcome!
Welcome to the Environmental Communication introduction course! We look forward to meeting you all on Tuesday 2nd of September when the course starts. We will meet in Room (Sal) S in the Ulls building (Almas Allé 8, 750 07 Uppsala Uppsala see map here) at 9.00 sharp. In the messages below you will find important information. Please read carefully and note that changes may occur once the course begins. This course page will be used only before the course starts. After we will only use the CANVAS platform. We will introduce you to Canvas on the first session so if possible bring your laptop. Alternatively you can use the Canvas app on your phone (see below for more information on Canvas)
For questions or comments about the course please contact camilo.calderon@slu.se.
We look forward to meeting you all!
Literature List
In the tab Literature List below you will find the literature list of the course. This list comprises required readings for each course week. A detailed list including suplementary and suggested readings will be provided at the start of the course. Note that small changes in the literature list may occur. All reading will occur during allocated times in the course. All literature will be available in the course CANVAS page once the course starts. The course does not have a main course book that you need to buy.
Activating your SLU IT-Student account and accessing course CANVAS page.
CANVAS is the online course platform where you will find all course materials. To get access to Canvas (as well all other SLU´s digital tools including Zoom´s Pro Plan) you need to first activate your SLU IT-student account and get an SLU email. The instructions on Activating your IT account and Getting started with the Canvas Learning platform can be found in the Checklist for new students.
Once you activate the IT account you will get access to CANVAS platform. Right now we are setting up the course Canvas page. Except for some general information and the course schedule, you will not be able to see the rest of modules and documents until the set up is finished. Our goal is to finish with the page setup latest on the 29th of August. You will get detailed information on how to use CANVAS on the first day of the course. Still, we recommend that you try to familiarize yourself with Canvas (including the phone app for students) before the course starts. We also recommend that you upload a picture of yourself to your profile.
Note that access to the Canvas page does not mean that you are registered in the course.
Course registration
You will be registered for the course on the first day of class after you respond to the roll call. It is thus very important that you attend this session in person. Because this is the first course of the programme you cannot register to it on Ladok on your own.
Note that students of the ECM MSc programme are expected to attend a separate introduction/registration session on Monday 1st of September (see the ECM welcome letter or the New Student page for details)
Late arrival to Sweden
We understand that some of you might have delays with your travel to Sweden. The 15th of September (two weeks after the course starts) is the last day for you to arrive in Sweden and be able to register for the course.
Important: If you know that you will arrive late and will be able to do so before the 15th of September please write an email to camilo.calderon@slu.se before the course starts. If it won't be possible for you to arrive on time and you want to save your place in the course or ECM programme for next year, you may apply for deferment of studies (see details here)
Syllabus and other information
Syllabus
MX0168 Introduction to environmental communication - Understanding and addressing environmental challenges from a communication perspective, 15.0 Credits
Introduktionskurs till miljökommunikation - Att förstå och hantera miljöutmaningar ur ett kommunikationsperspektivSubjects
Environmental ScienceEducation cycle
Master’s levelModules
| Title | Credits | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-term exam | 5.0 | 0001 |
| Final exam | 10.0 | 0002 |
Advanced study in the main field
Second cycle, has only first-cycle course/s as entry requirementsMaster’s level (A1N)
Grading scale
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.
Language
EnglishPrior knowledge
Knowledge equivalent to English 6 from upper secondary school.Equivalent to 180 credits and specialized studies comprising 90 credits within one of the following subjects/disciplinary domains: natural sciences, technology or social sciences.
Objectives
The course aims to introduce students to environmental communication as an interdisciplinary field of research and practice that is central for understanding and addressing current environmental challenges. Drawing a combination of relevant theoretical perspectives from social sciences and humanities, students develop an understanding of environmental communication as the joint construction of meaning. This entails moving beyond an understanding of communication as the transmission of information, and highlights the role of social interaction in the shaping and negotiation of discourses, knowledge, values, norms, and practices that can enable, but also constrain social and environmental change. The course includes practice-based components designed to enhance such understanding and to develop practical skills for analysing, producing and facilitating communication.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
- describe different theoretical perspectives for understanding environmental communication, including theories on social interaction;
- discuss the role of environmental communication in shaping diverse perspectives and responses to environmental challenges;
- apply different theoretical perspectives in the production and analysis of environmental communication artefacts;
- apply different theoretical perspectives and approaches for facilitating dialogue.
Content
Subject-related content
This course offers an introduction to environmental communication as an interdisciplinary field of research and practice drawing from multiple disciplines within the social sciences and humanities. Different social scientific perspectives are used for understanding environmental communication as the joint construction of meaning occurring in society through e.g., casual conversations, environmental campaigns and policies, or multi-stakeholder decision-making. The course highlights the importance of understanding environmental communication from both instrumental and constitutive perspectives, to be able to understand its role in the constitution and management of environmental challenges. By combining these perspectives, the course broadens the traditional view of communication as the transmission of expert knowledge and information, and emphasizes the role that different forms of communication and interaction play in shaping and transforming the knowledge, values, norms and practices that co-constitute today’s sustainability and environmental challenges. It also brings forward the struggles, conflicts and power relations present in communication and meaning-making.
Practice-based components are integrated throughout the course to deepen students´ understanding of theoretical perspectives while developing analytical and practical skills. This comprises interactive and interdisciplinary group work to produce and analyse different types of environmental communication artefacts and to facilitate dialogue processes involving diverse perspectives. The interdisciplinary composition of the student group plays a central role in these activities, creating experiences that simulate communication processes in which diverse perspectives and competences meet, challenge one another, and potentially develop.
Teaching formats
To further student learning and promote discussion, a variety of methods are used:
Lectures, literature studies, written assignments, project work, workshops, seminars, proficiency training, presentations.
The course focuses on the following generic competencies:
Critical thinking, problem solving, oral communication, written communication, teamwork, ability to work autonomously, plan and manage time.
The following components are mandatory:
See course schedule.
Grading form
The grade requirements within the course grading system are set out in specific criteria. These criteria must be available by the course start at the latest.Formats and requirements for examination
- Passed written or oral exam(s)
- Active participation in mandatory activities
- Active participation in project work
For further information, please refer to the course schedule.
If a student has failed an examination, the examiner has the right to issue supplementary assignments. This applies if it is possible and there are grounds to do so.
The examiner can provide an adapted assessment to students entitled to study support for students with disabilities following a decision by the university. Examiners may also issue an adapted examination or provide an alternative way for the students to take the exam.
If this syllabus is withdrawn, SLU may introduce transitional provisions for examining students admitted based on this syllabus and who have not yet passed the course.
For the assessment of an independent project (degree project), the examiner may also allow a student to add supplemental information after the deadline for submission. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Other information
The right to participate in teaching and/or supervision only applies for the course instance the student was admitted to and registered on.
If there are special reasons, students are entitled to participate in components with compulsory attendance when the course is given again. Read more in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook.
Responsible department
Department of Urban and Rural Development
Further information
Litterature list
Required Readings (RR)
Note: The course literature also includes additional texts that are not listed here. These are supplementary or suggested readings for students who want to read more about the course topics. PDFs of all Required Readings will be available at the start of the course. The course does not have a main course book that you have to buy.
- Hite, K. A., & Seitz, J. L. (2016). Global issues: an introduction (5th edition). John Wiley & Sons. Oxford.
Depending on your literature group one of the following:
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 6 – Subsections: Awakening, Land, Extinction of species, Extinction of cultures
Chapter 6 – Subsections: Awakening, Air, Water
Chapter 7
- Rödl, M., Mutter, A., Fischer, A., Calderón, C. & Hallgren, L. (forthcoming). Environmental Communication - A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: The Role of Ideas in Environmental Communication
Chapter 3: Environmental communication as symbolic interaction
- Pezzullo, P., Cox, R. (2018). Environmental communication and the public sphere. 5th edition. Sage publications: Washington DC.
Chapter 1: Defining Environmental Communication
- Milstein, T. (2009). Environmental Communication Theories. In: A. Foss, K. & Littlejohn.W, S. (eds.) Encyclopedia of communication theory. Thousand Oaks California US: SAGE Publications, Inc. 344–349.
- Fischer, A., Joosse, S., Hallgren, L., & Westberg, L. (2024). How research on communication can help to understand the management of natural resources and sustainability transformations: practices, concerns and new perspectives on environmental communication. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 67(9), 1871–1885. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2024.2345737
- Ngozi-Adichie, C. (2009). *Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED ***[video] **https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg&t=1s&ab_channel=TED
- Buijs, A., Hovardas, T., Figari, H., Castro, P., Devine-Wright, P., Fischer, A., Mouro, C. & Selge, S. (2012). Understanding People’s Ideas on Natural Resource Management: Research on Social Representations of Nature. Society & Natural Resources, 25 (11), 1167–1181. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2012.670369
- Höijer, B. (2011). Social Representations Theory. Nordicom Review, 32 (2), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0109
- Rogers, R.A. (2008). Beasts, Burgers, and Hummers: Meat and the Crisis of Masculinity in Contemporary Television Advertisements. Environmental Communication, 2 (3), 281–301. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524030802390250
- Hathaway, J.R. (2020). Climate Change, the Intersectional Imperative, and the Opportunity of the Green New Deal. Environmental Communication, 14 (1), 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2019.1629977
- MacGregor, S. (2017). Routledge handbook of gender and environment. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Introduction: Gender and Environment: An Introduction, pp. 1 – 6
- Joas, H. & Knöbl, W. (2009*). Social Theory: Twenty Introductory Lectures*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter 6: Interpretive approaches (1): symbolic interactionism, pp. 123 – 149.
- Innes, J. and Booher, D. (2016). Collaborative rationality as a strategy for working with wicked problems. Landscape and Urban Planning, 154**, **pp. 8-10.
- Reed, M. S. (2008). Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A literature review. Biological Conservation, 141, pp. 2417-2431.
- Connelly, S. & Richardson, T. (2004). Exclusion: the necessary difference between ideal and practical consensus. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 47 (1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/0964056042000189772
- Brulle, R.J. (2010). From Environmental Campaigns to Advancing the Public Dialog: Environmental Communication for Civic Engagement. Environmental Communication, 4 (1), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524030903522397
- Sprain, L., van Over, B. & Morgan, E.L. (2016). Divergent meanings of community. In: Peterson, T.R., Ljunggren Bergeå, H., Feldpausch-Parker, A.M., & Raitio, K. (eds) Environmental Communication and Community: Constructive and destructive dynamics of social transformation. London: Routledge. 249–265.
- Moore, A. (2012) Following from the front: theorizing deliberative facilitation. Critical Policy Studies 6(2): 146–162.
- Ozawa CP, Shmueli DF & Kaufman S (2017) Process design decisions in community-based collaboration: implications for implementation and collateral social benefits. Planning Theory & Practice 18(3): 407–427.
- Westin, M. (2019) Rethinking power in participatory planning: towards reflective practice. Dissertation. SLU, Uppsala.
Pages 11-12.
- Hunjan, R. & Pettit, J. (2011). Power: A Practical Guide for Facilitating Social Change. (Democracy and Civil Society Programme). Dunfermline, UK: Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. https://www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/publications/power-a-practical-guide-for-facilitating-social-change/
- Westin, M., Calderon, C. & Hellquist, A. (2014). The Inquiry Based Approach -A facilitator´s handbook. Stockholm: Elanders.
Chapter 5: How to be a facilitator, pp. 24-35