A Critical Introduction to Environmental Communication

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-78248-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 338 Seiten, Format (B × H): 174 mm x 246 mm

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Environmental Communication and Media

This new textbook introduces environmental communication as a sociocultural practice and an integral part of governance processes. It promotes change-oriented, critical and reflective environmental communication practice in a way that is both accessible and relevant.

Existing textbooks emphasise instrumental and normative perspectives on environmental communication, advising readers on how to effectively communicate environmental issues to encourage more sustainable practices. This book expands on these perspectives while also introducing other approaches to understanding environmental communication that highlight its constitutive role in social change. It consists of three central themes that:

- Contextualise environmental communication within critical social science research through conceptual lenses such as social practices, governance, and power.

- Discuss different understandings of communication and conflict which are relevant for environmental communication research and practice.

- Explore what it means to do environmental communication in a complex world, from facilitating dialogue processes to navigating digital platforms and planning communication campaigns and activism.

Rich in pedagogical features, A Critical Introduction to Environmental Communication uses case study examples, reflective exercises and further reading recommendations to embed learning. Overall, it is an essential resource for students, as well as communication practitioners who are engaged with environmental governance.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rödl, Malte

Mutter, Amelia

Fischer, Anke

Calderon, Camilo

Hallgren, Lars

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltpolitik, Umweltprotokoll
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Entwicklungsökonomie & Emerging Markets
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftssektoren & Branchen Medien-, Informations und Kommunikationswirtschaft
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Nachhaltigkeit
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Umwelt- und Gesundheitspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction – Environmental Communication as Joint Construction of Meaning Theme 1: Environmental Communication – Selected Concepts 2. The Role of Ideas in Environmental Communication 3. Environmental Communication as Symbolic Interaction 4. Social Practices and Environmental Communication 5. Environmental Communication and Governance 6. Power and Environmental Communication Theme 2: Understandings of ‘Communication’ in Environmental Communication 7. Theorising Environmental Communication for Social Change 8. Understanding Conflict through Environmental Communication 9. The Professional Cultures of Environmental Communication Theme 3: Environmental Communication in a Complex World 10. Participation and Dialogue as Environmental Communication 11. Nature Interpretation as Environmental Communication 12. Environmental Communication in a Digital Society 13. Environmental Communication Campaigns 14. Advocacy and Activism as Environmental Communication 15. Conclusion – Towards Reflective Practice in Environmental Communication

Über Autor(innen)

The authors work at the Division of Environmental Communication at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. They do research on a wide variety of environmental and sustainability issues, approaching environmental communication from a range of social science perspectives. All of them teach in the Master’s programme Environmental Communication and Management that attracts students from all over the world.

Malte Rödl is an Associate Professor in environmental communication, investigating the interactions between people, technology and environmental issues. Malte’s research combines insights from science and technology studies, information studies and sociology to explore the implications of digitisation for societal capacity to negotiate environmental concerns. Malte holds a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK (2019), and lives in Sweden since 2020.

Amelia Mutter is a researcher and teacher in environmental communication. She earned her PhD in Technology and Social Change in 2020 from Linköping University, Sweden, where her research focused on future energy imaginaries. Her research interests concern the role of new technologies, imaginaries and understandings of science and expertise in sustainability transitions, as well as the role of different stakeholders in co-constructing these.

Anke Fischer is Professor of Environmental Communication. After her PhD at the University of Göttingen, Germany (2004), she moved to Scotland, where she did research on meaning-making and conflict related to land use and sustainability issues, combining perspectives from psychology, sociology and governance studies. Between 2010 and 2012, she lived in Tanzania and Ethiopia, focusing her research on questions of wildlife management. Since moving to Sweden in 2019, her work examines the discursive construction of climate policy.

Camilo Calderon is a lecturer and researcher specialising in collaborative governance, and Study Director of the Master’s programme Environmental Communication and Management. He holds a PhD from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2013). His work on collaboration spans energy transitions, urban renewal, sustainable development and public space design. His current research explores how inclusive decision-making can address challenges linked to climate change, rapid urbanization, polarization and public resistance.

Lars Hallgren is a senior lecturer. With a PhD in environmental communication from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2003), his research examines communication in conflict and collaboration contexts as well as metadiscourses in professional environmental communication cultures. He has been involved in education in environmental communication since 1995 and has been instrumental in initiating, designing and implementing the Master’s programme in Environmental Communication and Management since its inception in 2007.