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How do We Speak and Write about Nature and the Environment?

Susanne Scharnowski

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Many of the concerns of the 21st century are related to nature and the environment: climate change with extreme weather events such as droughts, storms, and floods; the extinction of species; desertification, deforestation and the destruction of landscapes. How we perceive and assess such issues largely depends upon the way in which they are presented in the media that we select to inform ourselves and to form opinions and worldviews. Wildlife documentaries, photos and poems celebrate the beauty of nature and inspire awe and wonder, dystopian climate fiction or films shock or terrify the audience with visions of environmental devastation. On the other hand, scientific reports, journalistic texts and statements about environmental policies use figures, numbers, formulae and a technocratic language and present the natural world as a resource that can be managed and controlled through specialist knowledge. This divide between the ‘two cultures’ – science & technology on the one hand, the arts & humanities on the other hand – has consequences regarding the way we deal with nature and the environment. Should we simply “follow the science” and experts’ advice? Or is there a need for emotional, aesthetic, or spiritual views of the natural world? Program: This course will serve as an introduction to the field of environmental communication: What does it entail, who are the intended recipients, and what is the intended outcome? We will study various academic texts, addressing ‘the two cultures’, ‘framing’, and ‘technocratic discourse’. We will look at the genesis and development of nature writing and study extracts from classics as well as more recent texts by British and American authors, and we will analyse some visual media presenting nature and the environment. Is this the right course for you? Students from all fields, from the sciences as well as from the humanities, are invited to participate. However, you should be able to read English texts at a high level, be prepared to study a wide variety of academic as well as literary and journalistic texts and be interested in environmental matters as well as in textual and discourse analysis. Workload and Assessment: To obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to study and engage with the course materials (an average of 15-20 pages of academic/ literary texts per week), pass a mid-term test before Christmas and sit a written exam at the end of the semester. Students must attend at least 85% of the classes (14 out of 16). Some of the materials will be available in digital form on Blackboard; additionally, students have to purchase the reader (a collection of photocopied texts in printed form) from the copy shop at Königin-Luise-Str. 39, near U-Bahnhof Dahlem Dorf. close