Details

Subject(s)

• Climatic changes—Social aspects [Browse]
• Climatic changes—Political aspects [Browse]
• Climatic changes—Government policy [Browse]
• Communication in the environmental sciences [Browse]
• Environmental policy [Browse]
• Environmental law [Browse]

Contributor

• Stenhouse, Neil [Browse]
• Thompson, Jessica (Jessica Leigh) [Browse]

Series

Palgrave studies in media and environmental communication [More in this series]

Summary note

This book asks and answers the question of what communication research and other social sciences can offer that will help the global community to address climate change by identifying the conditions that can persuade audiences and encourage collective action on climate. While scientists often expect that teaching people the scientific facts will change their minds about climate change, closer analysis suggests this is not always the case. Communication scholars are pursuing other ideas based on what we know about influence and persuasion, but this approach does not provide complete answers either. Some misconceptions can be corrected by education, and some messages will be more powerful than others. The advent of the Internet also makes vast stores of information readily available. But audiences still process this information through different filters, based on their own values and beliefs - including their understanding of how science works. In between momentous events, media coverage of climate tends to recede and individuals turn their attention back to their daily lives. Yet there is a path forward: Climate change is a social justice issue that no individual - and no nation - can solve on their own. A different sort of communication effort can help. Effective reactions to climate change require collective, ultimately global, responses. Susanna Priest makes this argument eloquently and, through an adept evidentiary look at journalistic and strategic communication processes, sets the stage for building a strong societal demand for climate solutions. Sharon Dunwoody, Evjue-Bascom Professor Emerita of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison *** Communication and other social processes are the essence of science, and Susanna Priest applies that principle to communication about climate science. She makes a strong argument that we will only achieve successful climate communication when we recognize the collective, communal nature of climate knowledge. Individual knowledge and actions aren't enough; we must adapt communication research and action to focus on climate change as a social problem. Bruce V. Lewenstein, Professor of Science Communication and Chair, Department of Science & Technology Studies, Cornell University *** Susanna Priest provides a concise but comprehensive look at climate change communication. This book provides an invaluable overview of relevant research and theory, from cognitive processes to social dynamics, and makes a compelling argument that we need to cultivate critical science literacy among citizens of today's politically charged, media-saturated societies. Her insights should prove useful to both science communicators and science communication researchers. William Evans, Professor, Department of Journalism and Creative Media, University of Alabama.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Source of description

Print version record.

Contents

• Preface; About this Book; Contents; Chapter 1: The Communication Challenge of Our Century; Deficit Versus Dialogue; "Messaging" and the Unit of Analysis Problem; Strategic versus Democratic Goals; The Path Forward; Notes; References; Chapter 2: What's the Rush? Reacting to a Slow-Moving Disaster; Understanding "Skepticism" and Inaction; Change in the Information System; Communication Research: Contributions and Limitations; Distinguishing the Social from the Individual; Journalistic "Objectivity" and the Cultivation of Uncertainty; Scientists as Key Communicators; Non-Scientists as Audience
• Can the Climate of Opinion Actually Be Changed?Notes; References; Chapter 3: Talking Climate: Understanding and Engaging Publics; Public Understanding of Climate Science; Ideological Commitments Matter: Politics, Worldviews, and Values; Trust and Efficacy; What Have We Learned?; Notes; References; Chapter 4: The Evolving Social Ecology of Science Communication; Organizations and Institutions as Agenda-Builders; Professional Associations for Journalists and Scientists; A Word about the Nature of Social Norms; Evolving Journalistic Ethics; A New Ethical Landscape for Scientists?; Notes
• Political Opportunity StructureStrategic Capacity; Lessons and Opportunities for Communication; Notes; References; Chapter 8: The Path Forward: Making Change Happen; Keep Talking! Interpersonal Strategies Matter; Focus on the Collective: A Renewed Research Paradigm; Action Orientation: Climate as a Social Justice Issue; Push Out Solutions, Not Just Problems; References; Index

ISBN

• 9781137585790 ((electronic bk.))
• 113758579X ((electronic bk.))

OCLC

966184246

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