Human actions that affect the environment are dependent on how 
we communicate about it.  In order to explore and conduct 
research about this connection, it is necessary to understand 
how the very notion of “environment” is rhetorically 
constructed, how controversy is the result of particular 
patterns of communication, how public debate about 
environmental policy is open to particular stakeholders and 
limited by the terms they set, and how social movements 
(broadly defined) ensure effective and inclusive public 
participation in policy-making. 

In particular,

1. Students will consider the importance of studying 
environmental communication from a rhetorical perspective.
2. Students will consider how various stakeholders construct 
and contest messages about the environment.
3. Students will consider how various stakeholders influence 
public and scientific discourse about the environment.
4. Students will consider the relationship between 
environmental discourse and public policy.
5. Students will theorize and discuss the role of controversy 
in environmental policymaking.
6. Students will theorize the meaning of key concepts such as 
“risk” in contemporary discourses about the environment.
7. Students will learn about the role of values in the 
construction of scientific knowledge. 
8. Students will learn about the relationship between embodied 
experience, social relations, and the environment.
9. Through the in-depth study of case studies, including 
nuclear energy, climate disruption, and chemical pollution, 
students will apply rhetorical and communication concepts 
listed above.

1. Social/symbolic constructions of environment
2. Public participation in environmental decisions
3. Media discourse about the environment
4. Risk communication
5. Environmental advocacy campaigns
6. Environmental justice
7. Science communication and the environment
8. The politics of environmental degradation in the South
9. Corporate marketing and advocacy

“Academic honesty is – defined broadly and simply – the 
performance of all academic work without cheating, lying, 
stealing, or receiving assistance from any other person or 
using any source of information not appropriately authorized or 
attributed” (From the Preamble to “A Culture of Honesty”). The 
University, the Department of Communication Studies, and I 
personally take academic honesty very seriously. Every student 
at the University of Georgia should be familiar with the 
booklet, “A Culture of Honesty: Policies and Procedures on 
Academic Dishonesty.” If you are not, please obtain one of 
these booklets and read it carefully. This document has a 
thorough presentation of four types of academic dishonesty, 
including plagiarism, unauthorized assistance, lying/tampering, 
and theft, as well as the procedures that are in place to 
adjudicate alleged incidents of academic dishonesty. The 
policies and procedures described in “A Culture of Honesty” 
will be strictly followed. University Mandated Statement 
Concerning the University Honor Code & Academic Honesty All 
academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture 
of Honesty.” Students are responsible for informing themselves 
about those standards before performing any academic work. More 
detailed information about academic honesty can be found at
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.