Appendix VII
Frequency of Select Phrases from Science Communication Course Descriptions
Courses from NCA doctoral departments are highlighted in yellow.
Total courses in Science Communication: 196 (73 in NCA doctoral departments).
Search term “climate change”: 10 records.
| American University, School of Communication PhD in Communication |
| 1) COMM-589 Sustainability Communication |
| Research and principles that inform public communication about science, technology, and the environment. Course topics and case studies include climate change, energy, stem cell research, food biotechnology, the environmental movement, science and religion, evolution, animal welfare, genetic medicine, pharmaceutical marketing, and nanotechnology. |
| Ithaca College, School of Humanities and Sciences Project Look Sharp |
| 2) Media Construction of Global Warming |
High School through CollegeLessons teach core knowledge about the science of climate change, explore conflicting views, and integrate critical thinking skills. Students will apply knowledge of climate change to a rigorous analysis of media messages through asking and answering questions about accuracy, currency, credibility, sourcing, and bias. Lessons address basic climate science, the causes of climate change, scientific debate and disinformation, the consequences of global warming, the precautionary principle, carbon footprints, moral choices, and the history of global warming in media, science, and politics. |
| 3) Media Constructions of Sustainability |
High School through CollegeThis kit explores how sustainability has been presented in the media with a particular focus on issues related to food, water and agriculture. Each of the 19 lessons integrates media literacy and critical thinking into lessons about different aspect of sustainability. Constant themes throughout the kit include social justice, climate change, energy, economics and unintended consequences. |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Program in Science, Technology, and Society |
| 4) STS.032 Energy, Environment, and Society |
| Examines national and global energy debates, namely energy security, climate change, and energy access. Explores technological, market, environmental, cultural and political "fixes" to the energy question, as well as a wide variety of energy forms and stakeholders. Evaluates development, nuclear security, environment ethics, and conflicts between energy and food security. Includes debates, presentations, group projects (in class and in the Cambridge community), grant-writing, and individual written assignments. |
| 5) STS.034 Science Communication: A Practical Guide |
| Develops students' abilities to communicate science effectively in a variety of real-world contexts. Covers strategies for dealing with complex areas like theoretical physics, genomics and neuroscience, and addresses challenges in communicating about topics such as climate change and evolution. Projects focus on speaking and writing, being an expert witness, preparing briefings for policy-makers, writing blogs, giving live interviews for broadcast, and creating a prospectus for a science exhibit in the MIT Museum. |
| Stevens Institute of Technology, Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts B.A. in Science Communication |
| 6) HST 330 Environmental Communication |
| Environmental Communication introduces the study and practice of how individuals and institutions craft, distribute, understand, and use messages about the environment and human interactions with it. Topics include the study of important communication principles, the mass media and social media, the planning of effective communication campaigns, close analysis of global climate change and sustainable energy, and communication across different cultures. This course provides students with the tools, techniques, and strategies necessary for persuasive, professional, and scientifically rigorous communication about environmental issues. |
| University of Denver, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department of Communication Studies |
| 7) COMN 3431 Communication and Climate Change |
| Since the release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," American public discourse has become increasingly concerned with global warming. Not only is there nearly 100% consensus among climate scientists that human-induced climate change exists, but the severity of global warming is entering the popular imaginary, in the form of journalism, films, etc. But while scientists are committed to slowing global warming, the types of sweeping policy and behavioral changes needed to abate the projected climate catastrophe have been very slow in coming. As such, communication scholars--particularly those concerned with the art of public persuasion--are in a unique position to contribute to this significant and complex issue. In the words of climate scientists Susanne Moser and Lisa Dilling, "We need to open up the communication process to a wider community, in which participants own the process and content of communication." The goal of this course is to produce original scholarly research in response to Moser and Dilling's call, to invite more and better communication concerning climate change. |
| University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Communication Studies |
| 8) COMM 467 Debating Politics and Science: Science, News, Public Opinion and Policy |
| This class explores how the public consumes science and how scientific findings translate into policy. Through issues like evolution, climate change, and vaccinations, we explore boundaries of scientific knowledge, challenges in science journalism, popular opinion, and policy challenges. What we know and how we know it lie in the balance. |
| University of Rhode Island, College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communication Studies |
| 9) GCH104 Grand Challenges in the Social Sciences: Science and Communication |
| The science, public policy, and communications of peak oil, climate change, and planetary limits to human population growth illustrate a critical disconnection between awareness within the sciences and action by the public. This course investigates the causes and consequences of the underlying problem of humanity's greatest failure to communicate, in an effort to use communications (pecifically an analysis of the credibility, importance, and rhetorical effectiveness of scientific claims) to persuade rational social movements. |
| University of Utah, College of Humanities Department of Communication |
| 10) COMM 3115 Communicating Science, Health, Environment |
| Communication plays a fundamental role in public perception of science, health, and the environment. This class provides students with an overview of how these topics are communicated in contexts ranging from the mass media, to public hearings, to patient-provider interactions. Topics include climate change, pandemics, addiction, and genetics. |
Search term “sustainable”: 4 records.
| Stevens Institute of Technology, Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts B.A. in Science Communication |
| 1) HST 330 Environmental Communication |
| Environmental Communication introduces the study and practice of how individuals and institutions craft, distribute, understand, and use messages about the environment and human interactions with it. Topics include the study of important communication principles, the mass media and social media, the planning of effective communication campaigns, close analysis of global climate change and sustainable energy, and communication across different cultures. This course provides students with the tools, techniques, and strategies necessary for persuasive, professional, and scientifically rigorous communication about environmental issues. |
| University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Rhetoric |
| 2) RHET 3700 Rhetoric of Sustainability |
| How sustainable development and related concepts have been used to shape public opinion on a range of topics, from environmental protection to economic globalization; role in discourse of public policy. |
| University of Minnesota, College of Liberal Arts Department of Communication Studies |
| 3) COMM 5250 Environmental Communication |
| Historical, cultural, material contexts within which environmental communication takes place. Understand environmental communication as well as develop communication strategies that lead to more sustainable social practices, institutions, systems. |
| University of Washington Seattle, College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communication |
| 4) COM 423 Communication and Social Change |
| Examines both theory and application involved in using communications media as a tool for addressing political, social, and economic development issues. Utilizes a case study approach to look at localized applications of traditional and new communications tools in the pursuit of sustainable development. |
Search term “energy”: 6 records.
| American University, School of Communication PhD in Communication |
| 1) COMM-589 Sustainability Communication |
| Research and principles that inform public communication about science, technology, and the environment. Course topics and case studies include climate change, energy, stem cell research, food biotechnology, the environmental movement, science and religion, evolution, animal welfare, genetic medicine, pharmaceutical marketing, and nanotechnology. |
| Ithaca College, School of Humanities and Sciences Project Look Sharp |
| 2) Media Constructions of Sustainability |
High School through CollegeThis kit explores how sustainability has been presented in the media with a particular focus on issues related to food, water and agriculture. Each of the 19 lessons integrates media literacy and critical thinking into lessons about different aspect of sustainability. Constant themes throughout the kit include social justice, climate change, energy, economics and unintended consequences. |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences Program in Science, Technology, and Society |
| 3) STS.032 Energy, Environment, and Society |
| Examines national and global energy debates, namely energy security, climate change, and energy access. Explores technological, market, environmental, cultural and political "fixes" to the energy question, as well as a wide variety of energy forms and stakeholders. Evaluates development, nuclear security, environment ethics, and conflicts between energy and food security. Includes debates, presentations, group projects (in class and in the Cambridge community), grant-writing, and individual written assignments. |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences BS in Science, Technology, and Society |
| 4) STSS 4270 Sustainability Problems |
| In this course students will map the matrix of problems that make sustainability difficult--problems with the U.S. political, legal, and educational system, with media, culture, and individual behavior. Students will also identify sustainability pathways in transportation, urban design, education, alternative energy, etc. Throughout, students will analyze and try to produce effective environmental communication. |
| Stevens Institute of Technology, Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts B.A. in Science Communication |
| 5) HST 330 Environmental Communication |
| Environmental Communication introduces the study and practice of how individuals and institutions craft, distribute, understand, and use messages about the environment and human interactions with it. Topics include the study of important communication principles, the mass media and social media, the planning of effective communication campaigns, close analysis of global climate change and sustainable energy, and communication across different cultures. This course provides students with the tools, techniques, and strategies necessary for persuasive, professional, and scientifically rigorous communication about environmental issues. |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Department of Communication |
| 6) COMM297A Special Topic: Introduction to Global Communication |
| This course deals with the role of global communication in framing critical issues of our time such as the environment, war and peace, health, energy, food and water, cultural identity, and social change. The global influence of film, television, sound recording, publishing, the Internet and tourism will be analyzed within the context of "globalization". |
Search term “peak oil”: 1 records.
| University of Rhode Island, College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communication Studies |
| 1) GCH104 Grand Challenges in the Social Sciences: Science and Communication |
| The science, public policy, and communications of peak oil, climate change, and planetary limits to human population growth illustrate a critical disconnection between awareness within the sciences and action by the public. This course investigates the causes and consequences of the underlying problem of humanity's greatest failure to communicate, in an effort to use communications (pecifically an analysis of the credibility, importance, and rhetorical effectiveness of scientific claims) to persuade rational social movements. |
Search term “population ”: 2 records.
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Communication |
| 1) CMN 496 Public Communication of Science |
| Communicating science to the general population focuses on enhancing public understanding and engagement of innovation and discovery. This course provides an overview of how science is communicated, how that communication engages scientists and the public, and details the practical and strategic challenges of communicating science in the public sphere. Throughout the semester, students will examine the production and effects of strategic science communication efforts and media-based portrayals of science on individuals and policy. The course will focus equally on theory and practice, emphasizing the role of communication specialists on fostering and promoting discovery and innovation. By the end of the semester, students will understand the complexities and challenges of communication's influences on individual, organizational, and political processes relevant to scientific research. |
| University of Rhode Island, College of Arts and Sciences Department of Communication Studies |
| 2) GCH104 Grand Challenges in the Social Sciences: Science and Communication |
| The science, public policy, and communications of peak oil, climate change, and planetary limits to human population growth illustrate a critical disconnection between awareness within the sciences and action by the public. This course investigates the causes and consequences of the underlying problem of humanity's greatest failure to communicate, in an effort to use communications (pecifically an analysis of the credibility, importance, and rhetorical effectiveness of scientific claims) to persuade rational social movements. |
Search term “natural resources ”: 2 records.
| Ohio State University, College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences School of Environment and Natural Resources |
| 1) ENR 2367 Communicating Environmental and Natural Resources Information |
| Concepts, skills development, and practice in accessing and communicating information about the environment and natural resources to varied audiences; emphasis on written and oral communication. |
| Texas A & M , College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications |
| 2) AGCJ 404 Communicating Agricultural Information to the Public |
| Use of agricultural education principles and techniques to communicate scientific information related to agriculture, agribusiness, natural resources and life sciences to the general public; communication processes include audience identification, writing, editing and production of agricultural science-based manuscripts for popular and refereed publications. |