“One of the reasons why I think it was approved is that the natural environment is one of the pillars of the college, along with the civic environment and experiential learning,” said Associate Professor of Communication Studies William Homestead. “So the minor is a good fit for the college based on who we are.”
Homestead proposed the addition of the Environmental Communication Minor last fall, it was accepted by NEC at the end of the season, and should appear on the website soon.
“It’s a good fit for anyone who has a love for the natural world and maybe would want to get a job someday at an environmental non-profit,” said Homestead who’s been with the college for 11 years.
In recent advising meetings he informed his students of the new minor and some are already showing interest.
Homestead explained that this sub-field in Communication Studies has been around for over 20 years, and has continued to gain more interest from academics, professionals, and activists, especially in the age of climate disruption, which is not just an environmental problem, but a communication one.
The basic argument is that how we talk about the environment influences how we engage with and treat it. For example, the terms that describe the greenhouse effect, “Global Warming,” “Climate Change,” and “Climate Disruption,” have different connotations. “Global Warming” almost sounds beneficial, like the world’s growing warmer—people might think great, I like warmth! “Climate Change” is less clear—it could be positive, or adverse, while “Climate Disruption” sounds more serious. These terms influence the way we think and our behavior.
“In grad school my master’s thesis was An Ecology of Communication: Response and Responsibility in an Age of Eco-crisis,” said Homestead, who has a MS in Environmental Science, a MA in Communication Studies, and a MFA in Creative Writing. He’s been thinking about this topic, reading about it, and writing about it for a long time.
Inside the proposal he presented to NEC faculty to add the minor, Homestead asserted: “…we must learn to critically analyze environmental discourse if we are to be ethical communicators.”
According to “Environmental Communication Theories” http://www.academia.edu/2221482/Environmental_Communication_Theories by Tema Milstein, scholars have an ethical responsibility to join the discussion, and “Some researchers have gone so far as to claim that environmental communication is a crisis discipline because it deals either directly or indirectly with pressing issues such as climate crisis, endangered species, and toxic pollution.”
The question Environmental Communication seeks to answer is: “How do you communicate issues of this scope to a broad public?’ Homestead said. “What’s happening? And may well happen?—It’s about translating data into meaning, and communicating that to a broad audience.”
According to Homestead, this sub-field offers several different areas of critical analysis. PR/advertisements for oil companies, IPCC scientific reports, international conferences on climate change, environmental journalism, activist websites and protest marches, social media like Facebook and Twitter, local town meetings, the Weather Channel, documentaries, and so on. Those educated in the field are employed by nonprofits, governmental agencies, businesses, political organizations, media and journalism, PR firms, law firms, educational institutions, and more.
Environmental Communication is currently a big topic of discussion. So big that an international forum was created in 2011, the International Environmental Communication Association, https://theieca.org which focuses on environmental issues and conflicts, and seeks solutions that move us towards sustainability. This is a good resource for teachers, students, researchers, artists, communication directors, outreach coordinators, media analysts, public affairs officers, journalists, mediators, filmmakers, photographers, consultants, marketers, activists, and anyone interested in joining the conversation.
So they’re prepared to engage this topic, graduates of NEC with a Minor in Environmental Communication will learn to identify, describe, and investigate differing but related areas of study within the field, practice critical thinking, write, develop discussion skills, discover insights through experiential learning, and demonstrate knowledge with creative projects, according to Homestead’s proposal.
Luckily, when he first came up with the idea for the minor, and he evaluated NEC’s current courses, he realized there were twelve that already fit. Since students only need to choose five to meet the requirements of the new 20-credit minor, this offers some freedom and flexibility to choose courses they’re most interested in. Therefore the minor can meet students’ needs while offering an opportunity for them to make a contribution toward a greater one.
