Stories that Move: Exploring and Creating Effective Environmental Media

How might a great story help us save ourselves - and our future on Earth? In this hands-on course, students will explore how storytellers, artists, journalists, activists, and public figures use media to make meaning, challenge dominant narratives, influence public opinion, and inspire action around climate, environmental, and social justice. Drawing from diverse communities, cultures, and regions around the world, we will examine how media shapes our understanding of environmental change, justice, and the human experience. But this is not a course where you simply watch, read, and discuss. Through small-group workshops, creative exercises, critical analysis, and multimedia production, students will experiment with the same storytelling tools they study in class. Students will develop an extended analysis of a piece of environmental media for their midterm and create an original short-form media project for their final - choosing from formats such as video, podcast, photo essay, journalism, or visual art. No prior media production experience is required; curiosity, creativity, and a willingness to experiment are.