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Unit 1: Introduction to Climate Communication

Overview

(Weeks 1-2)

Communicating effectively about the climate crisis is a complex process shaped by multiple perspectives and requires addressing the needs and interests of a wide range of people. Drawing on both Indigenous knowledge systems and Western scholarly and scientific knowledge (sometimes referred to as Two-Eyed Seeing, as discussed by Bartlett, Marshall, and Marshall), in this unit, you will be introduced to climate communication as a relational process that requires familiarity with both yourself (where you communicate from, what your values and goals are) and those with whom you hope to be in shared dialogue (your audience and collaborators, their values and goals). This unit will provide tools and concepts to begin to develop that knowledge, including cultivating attention for and knowledge of the places you inhabit through the Tiny Ecology project, which you will ideally begin immediately.

At the beginning of each week I will be sending you an update. This will sometimes include a video or short audio recording, as well as reminders and suggestions or prompts about the readings for the week. In the case of audio files, I encourage you to get outside and walk or cycle, if that’s available to you. Each week you will be given a number of “readings”, which will vary in format between text (e.g., scholarly articles, journalistic writing, writing tips, reports, guidelines), video, and audio (e.g., podcasts). Where possible, readings are provided in multiple formats to improve accessibility, but this is not available in all cases. 

This first unit lasts two weeks. The first week will be about introductions — to each other, to the themes of the courses, and perhaps even to the place in which you live. In week two, you will be introduced to the field of climate communication, which has grown rapidly and across many disciplines in the last twenty years.

It will also be important (and helpful to you!) to have each week’s readings completed in advance of the week in order to be best prepared for the relevant assignments. This will also be helpful as you develop your Tiny Ecology project as readings are incorporated into your blog posts for that assignment.

Activities and Assessment Overview

Unit 1 Activity 0

While most of you will already be familiar with the structure of this online course by virtue of participation in CALS 501, you may still need a refresher, so take some time to familiarize yourself with the various online spaces you will be using. That means this blog, your own blog which you should have started in CALS 501, as well Moodle. The first week in a course like this can be a bit overwhelming as you orient (or reorient after some time away). Feel free to ask questions in the discussion board set up in Moodle for this purpose, and if you know the answer to a question being asked, please don’t hesitate to respond!

There are key things to understand about the difference in the online spaces that this course uses, which will help you immensely as you navigate the course materials and requirements.

  1. This WordPress site is where you will find information on the course, including activities, assignments, unit description etc. I will also make announcements as needed on the “instructor posts” section of this blog, and this is where you’ll find my weekly posts meant to generate thinking about the readings. 
  2. Assignments are submitted through Moodle. This is where you will also submit Activity 2 (below) for Unit 1.
  3. Your WordPress site is where you will complete your Tiny Ecology posts, and any other contributions you might want to make over the course of these ten weeks together. You will also be posting comments to your colleagues’ blogs, as well as responding to comments left by others on your own.
  4. Your Feedly page is where you’ll go to see everyone’s blog posts. By now everyone should have this set up, and if you haven’t quite gotten to it and aren’t sure about the process, feel free to ask your peers questions and reach out to me if you still aren’t sure.

Unit 1 Activity 1

Complete the readings for Week 1. Look in your email for the weekly update, which will provide more context, prompts, and questions for you to consider as you work through this material.

Unit 1 Activity 2

Complete Padlet: Where do you know from? (in Moodle) in response to Zuroski reading (“Where do you know from?“). This will be how you introduce yourself in this course, and you may choose to include it as a post on your WordPress site as way to continue to build the digital presence you already began to establish in CAL501. This exercise includes the following questions, which you can answer directly or in the format of a story if you’d prefer. You may find that you don’t need to answer them all, but I encourage you to answer at least four or five. While many of you may already know each other, there will be new people in this course and no doubt there’s more about you that we can learn! Finally, to Zuroski’s questions I’ve added one more specific to this course.

    • What is your name? (What do you prefer to be called?)
    • What pronouns do you use? (This can change over time, and for some people is a fluid identity, which you are welcome to discuss or not as feels appropriate for you.)
    • What are your intellectual interests? (Consider what you bring to the MACAL program as a thinker and change-maker.)
    • How did these interests come to you? (Is there any story you’d like to tell about why you care about the things you care about?)
    • What is your intellectual work for? (How does this work tie into your interest in climate communication?)
    • What else would you like us to remember and recognize about you when we engage in conversation with you?
    • What brings you to this course and program on climate action, leadership, and communication? What do you hope to get out of the course?

Unit 1 Activity 3

This first week’s Zoom session will be about getting to know each other a bit better, what we are hoping to make together with the course, and to open the floor to questions about the course. Almost every week of the course will have a Zoom session for class discussion (often a mix between the whole class and breakout groups) and Q&A, as well as potentially include guest speakers from time to time.

Unit 1 Activity 4

Find a location to undertake your Tiny Ecology project.

Unit 1 Activity 5

Complete the readings for Week 2. Look in your email for the weekly update, which will provide more context, prompts, and questions for you to consider as you work through this material.

Unit 1 Activity 6

Weekly Zoom discussion.