Language and Climate Change
Summary
![[creative commons]](/images/creativecommons_16.png)
Summary of the Session: What kinds of language do different writers and speakers use to characterize climate change, and what does that language communicate to readers and listeners? We will read short selected writings and critique them—first individually, then in small groups, and finally in our large-group—in order to understand the power of language to change thinking and lead to action, including our own actions as teachers and learners.
Background: This 90-minute session is part of a four-day workshop that brought together faculty from multiple colleges and diverse disciplines to work collaboratively on developing new and revised courses, explore engaged learning pedagogies, and add to their knowledge for interdisciplinary teaching about climate change within a liberal arts curriculum. The workshop was held twice on the campus of Dickinson College, first in summer 2010 and again in summer 2011. Participants came from more than 20 colleges and universities and with expertise in disciplines that span the sciences, social sciences and humanities. The workshops are part of a NASA supported project Cooling the Liberal Arts Curriculum, A Campaign for Climate Change Education (Cooling the Curriculum ).
Also see teaching materials.
Learning Goals
- Become aware of the way language is used to produce meaning.
- Note the difference between objective facts and subjective opinion.
- Be aware of the extent to which all language implies a slant, a focus, or an agenda.
- Be able to locate the points at which diction—or syntax—produces emotional impact.
Context for Use
Description and Teaching Materials
Activities for this session include a brief introduction to the goals of the session (10 minutes), working individually to read and mark-up a short piece of writing of one of four authors (15 minutes), small group discussions of the texts (30 minutes) and a full-group discussion about what we have learned.
Each participant is given a short text to read carefully and analyze from Bill McKibben, David Orr, Mike Hulme, and Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway.