The Communications and Media Studies Program and the Environmental Studies Program are in the process of collaborating to form an Environmental Communication track. We anticipate that this will consist of an academic program that blends environmental studies, science and media, internship opportunities, and on-campus events.
For additional information, please contact contact CMS Director Julie Dobrow or Environmental Studies Director Colin Orians.
CMS Receives Tufts Innovates! grant
Julie Dobrow, Director of Communications & Media Studies, and Colin Orians, Director of Environmental Studies,
received a Tufts Innovates! Grant to design and teach a new course in Environmental Communication. The course will launch in the Spring 2013 semester.
Orians and Dobrow believe that environmental and media literacy are two critical civic skills for the 21st century. “This was the driving force behind our teaming up,” said Dobrow. “Poor literacy skills in environmental communication have allowed anti-science groups and individuals to ignore and often counter established facts by getting their message into the media mainstream,” added Orians. “They are winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the general public.”
Orians, whose training is in biology, and Dobrow, whose background is in media studies, are excited to bring their
respective disciplinary perspectives together in an interdisciplinary course that melds natural and social science. The course will focus on training students to filter and process the information they get about environmental issues, understanding which information appears in the press and popular culture and why, and learning to use the tools of multimedia to communicate about critical environmental issues effectively, themselves. The development of this course goes hand-in-hand with Orians’ and Dobrow’s collaborative effort to create an Environmental Communication Track within the Environmental Studies major. “We have lots of ideas about directions in which we might go,” said Dobrow. “Environmental communication is an important focus in both of our fields.” Orians agreed and stated, “When we look at the critical environmental issues facing humanity and our planet, there are few things that matter more than effective communication of current knowledge.”
|
