Description

The course mainly focuses on climate change and sustainable development through media coverage (print media and visual media). The aim of the course is threefold: to equip students with (1) understanding of the role of media and the impact it has in shaping current discourses on the topic of climate change and sustainable development, (2) skills for systematic and critical evaluation of current climate change discourses, i.e. determining their truth value, (3) the ability to select an effective communication style for intended target groups.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• identify and discuss key international discourse themes on the topic of climate change, and defend or oppose to a given climate change position derived from such discourses
• systematically evaluate current climate change discourses using media framing techniques

Assessment

• Discourse framing exercise, in-class project (identification and discussion of key discourse themes). (70%)
• Handout excercise (systematic and critical evaluation). (20%)
• Participation in class. (10%)

Instructor

Guðni Elísson is a Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Iceland. He obtained Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993, and MA degree in Icelandic literature from the University of Iceland in 1987. His traditional teaching area has been literary theory (e.g. ÍSM702F Chomsky: Language, mind and society), romanticism, horror fiction, film theory, adaptation and film noir. Along with a number of high profile articles in Icelandic print media, Guðni has published papers on climate change and sustainability discourses. Recent peer-reviewed Icelandic publications on the topic include:
• „Dauðinn á forsíðunni: DV og gotnesk heimssýn", Fyrri og seinni hluti, Skírnir, vor 2006, bls. 105-132 og Skírnir, haust 2006, bls. 313-356.
• „Nú er úti veður vont: Gróðurhúsaáhrif og íslensk umræðuhefð". Ritið 1/2007, bls. 5-44.
• „Efahyggja og afneitun: Ábyrg loftslagsumræða í fjölmiðlafári samtímans". Ritið 2/2008, bls. 77-114.
• „Dómsdagsklukkan tifar. Upplýsing og afneitun í umræðu um loftslagsbreytingar", Ritið 1/2011, bls. 91-136.
• „Og syngur enginn fugl: Hernaðurinn gegn Rachel Carson", TMM 3/2011, bls. 24-39.

Guest lecturer

Further reading