The take home final exam will consist of a 10-12 page critical discussion and analysis of Dont Even Think About It in which students will apply concepts and readings from the course to explore and discuss the relationship between environmental communication, media and public engagement with the issue of climate change. The take-home exam will be distributed in class on Monday, July 30 and will be due on Question In the introductory chapter to Dont Even Think About It, George Marshall asserts the need to approach climate change not as a media battle of science versus vested interests or truth versus fiction, but as the ultimate challenge to our ability to make sense of the world around us. More than any other issue it exposes the deepest workings of our minds and shows our extraordinary and innate talent for seeing only what we want to see and disregarding what we would prefer not to know. (3) He then goes on to argue that the real answers to my questions [about engaging the public around climate change] do not lie in the things that drive us apart so much as in the things we all share: our common psychology, our perception of risk, and our deepest instincts to defend our family and tribe. (3) Do you agree with these claims? Why or why not? How would you assess and apply Marshalls arguments from the perspective of environmental communication? What role can and should insights about (social) psychology and human cognition play in improving communication strategies and practices, and developing a more vibrant and engaged environmental public sphere? What do you make of his discussion of faith and community in relation to mainstream environmentalism? Are there any significant limits, weaknesses or gaps in Marshalls analysis which the field of environmental communications (as weve examined it in this course) can help illuminate or address? Instructions Your answer should be approximately 10 double-spaced pages in length (roughly 2,500 words). Use parenthetical, in-text references (e.g. Marshall, p. 54) and treat the course outline as your bibliography. Your exam should have a title page with your name and student number. The exam must be submitted on (or before) 5pm on Monday, August 13 through Canvas. Late exams will not be accepted without a compelling medical excuse. Exams will not be returned. Assessment of answers will be based primarily upon the extent to which you are able to successfully synthesize core theoretical concepts and empirical examples from multiple readings and lectures and demonstrate a critical engagement with course material. In other words, answers should not simply summarize material from Marshall, Pezzullo and Cox, other readings or the lectures but rather apply core concepts and ideas to showcase the development of your own perspective on environmental communication. Use of additional sources beyond course material is neither expected nor encouraged. The question has been deliberately posed in a broad and general fashion in order to give you maximum flexibility in crafting a response. However, this is not an invitation to respond with vague, ungrounded personal opinions or reactions to Dont Even Think About It. Instead, your answer should be creative, substantive, coherent and precise, drawing upon the most relevant course material to develop a wellreasoned and tightly argued thesis about environmental communication and climate change.
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