Wicked Problems: Environmental Communication, Media, and Justice in the Anthropocene

The need to combat human-caused climate change remains the planet’s most urgent issue. From the recent floods in Pakistan to heat waves across Europe, this new world order sees human actions upon the planet as so intense that they have created a new geological epoch - the Anthropocene. The 21st century Anthropocene is thus what we can call a “wicked problem”: an urgent and challenging global problem to solve. The aim of this interdisciplinary BA course is to introduce students to, and to engage in critical thinking on, how these wicked environmental problems and their solutions are constructed and deliberated in society through language and other forms of democratic deliberation. From environmental justice issues regarding urban planning to the influence #FridaysForFuture and Greta Thunberg has in local and international environmental policy, this course brings together theories, methods, and concepts from the humanities and social sciences—ranging from rhetoric to climate psychology—to analyse environmental problems in our 21st century networked public sphere.

Course leader

Marcia Clare Allison

Target group

Bachelor's level

Fee info

EUR 830: EU/EEA citizens
EUR 1373: NON-EU/EEA citizens

Scholarships

No scholarships available

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