COMM 3210 - Communication and the Environment

(SBA-AG) (CU-SBY)

Fall, Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

K. Fitzgerald.

Students investigate how values, attitudes, social structure, and communication affect public perceptions of environmental risk and public opinion about the environment. A primary focus is mass media’s impact on public perceptions of the environment, how the media portray the environment, and discussion of the implications of public consumption of environmental content.

Outcome 1: Students will examine the different ways that communication and the media shaped and continue to shape our understanding of and relationships to the natural environment.

Outcome 2: Students will gain historical and contemporary knowledge of the US conservation and environmental movements and how environmental attitudes have changed over time.

Outcome 3: Students will be able to apply communication theory to environmental contexts and will be better able to recognize, analyze, and critique the variety of environmental messages that they encounter.