Integrating Science and Rhetoric on Climate Change in the Classroom
Labosier, Christopher F. ; Fay, Isabel
Like many of the world's most pressing challenges, climate change is a complex problem spanning the realms of science, economics, law and policy, ethics, communication, and more. With this multitude of implications, tomorrow's leaders require the ability to think across academic disciplines to solve such problems. Here, we describe a newly developed course that responds to these demands by introducing undergraduate students to climate change as both a scientific theory and a policy concern. Through this integration of the fields of atmospheric science and communication, novel, pedagogically valuable questions and course themes emerged. Thus, students were engaged in readings and discussions of what science is and what it means for decision-making to be science based, in addition to acquiring a fundamental understanding of climate change science. Moreover, students developed media literacy skills by analyzing how science is presented in the public sphere and the challenges of communicating scientific uncertainty. In informative, narrative, and persuasive speech assignments, students practiced using rhetorical techniques to build audience interest in scientific questions of public relevance. These assignments required students to participate in public discourse on various aspects of climate change. With this note, we encourage other educators in a variety of disciplines to develop novel approaches to climate change education.</p>
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