Ateneo - UPO

The course has a dual ambition. Firstly, it aims to introduce the topic of public communication through traditional lectures, examining the key actors, strategies, needs, as well as regulatory and moral frameworks. It will also explore the boundaries—sometimes sharp, other times blurred, and at times almost non-existent—with other forms of communication: political communication, public journalism, institutional communication, and environmental risk communication. Secondly, through interactive teaching methods, the course aims to address the specific issue of public communication of climate change.

The professor will upload course materials to DIR, consisting of selected book chapters and academic articles. These publications will constitute the required exam content.

Basic Expected Learning Outcomes: Acquire the fundamental tools for the analysis of public communication (knowledge and understanding); Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to real-world processes in contemporary societies related to environmental risk and the climate crisis (applying knowledge and understanding). Advanced Expected Learning Outcomes: (Knowledge and understanding): Know the main theoretical approaches to public and risk communication; (Communication skills): Present the acquired knowledge clearly and correctly, demonstrating full mastery of the discipline's terminology and vocabulary; (Making judgements / Independent judgement): Critically compare the different theoretical perspectives analyzed, also in order to develop an independent view of public communication within the contemporary media environment; (Learning skills): Acquire sound text analysis skills, including the ability to make connections between different topics.

No specific prerequisites are required. However, reading at least one book on climate change is recommended to gain a clear understanding of what it is and how it can be addressed. For a clear introductory overview in Italian, the book Cambiamento climatico. Perché avviene, come avviene, cosa fare by Jacopo Pesotti (Scienza Express edizioni, Trieste, 2020) is suggested.

The course will adopt a blended teaching methodology: traditional lectures, open discussions based on shared readings, and short group work.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/servicesstudents-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The exam will be oral and will cover the course materials. Grades are awarded on a 30-point scale based on the following criteria: 1. Knowledge and understanding of the main topics covered: up to 18 out of 30 points (minimum passing grade); 2. Ability to present the acquired knowledge clearly and effectively: up to 7 out of 30 points; 3. Ability to make connections between the topics covered and examine them critically and with independent judgement: up to 5 out of 30 points.

The course aims to introduce public communication and its main themes and concepts while, at the same time, putting it to the test through the study of climate change and environmental risk communication. Climate change functions as a major stress test for public communication: indeed, it forces institutions to communicate a long-term, scientifically complex, emotionally intense, socially unequal, and politically conflictual problem, which is further shaped by disinformation, economic interests, and uncertainty. It is divided into 10 three-hour units, partly lecture-based and partly interactive, which can be summarized as follows: What is public communication, how it differs from other forms of communication, the main issues defining it, and the regulations governing it. What makes climate communication "public." Who has the mandate to communicate; how legitimacy and reputation are distinguished; and the moral principles that should govern it. When does institutional communication serve the public good, and when does it become the promotion of the institution, the government, or a political leader? Constructing an environmental problem. In what sense can we argue that climate change becomes a public issue precisely through its representations? How is environmental risk narrated? Journalism, platforms, and the mediatization of climate. How environmental issues enter the media ecosystem: who decides which aspects of climate change become visible and which disappear from the public agenda? Science, uncertainty, risk, and crisis. How are risk and uncertainty communicated? How do you communicate a severe threat when its timing, intensity, or distribution cannot be predicted? Trust, transparency, listening, and participation. Does transparency consist of publishing information, or of enabling citizens to understand, intervene, and receive a response? How is trust produced within the act of public communication? Denial, delay, greenwashing, and adversarial communication. How does climate disinformation operate? How should an institution communicate when certain actors are not merely seeking to participate in the debate, but to confuse, deflect, polarize, or delay? Eco-anxiety, identity, social norms, and self-efficacy. How do you communicate the severity of the problem without producing avoidance, helplessness, shame, or fatalism? What role do emotions, identities, and norms play? Climate justice, voice, movements, and conflict. Climate communication cannot be reduced to a matter of scientific understanding. Public counter-spheres are present and often necessary. Designing, evaluating, and adjusting a public climate campaign. How do you build an intentional and persuasive strategy without turning public communication into propaganda? How can we know if the communication has produced public value, rather than merely generating content, visibility, and interactions?

Basic Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. Acquire the fundamental tools for the analysis of public communication (knowledge and understanding); 2. Apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to real-world processes in contemporary societies related to environmental risk and the climate crisis (applying knowledge and understanding). Advanced Expected Learning Outcomes: 1. (Knowledge and understanding): Know the main theoretical approaches to public and risk communication; 2. (Communication skills): Present the acquired knowledge clearly and correctly, demonstrating full mastery of the discipline's terminology and vocabulary; 3. (Making judgements / Independent judgement): Critically compare the different theoretical perspectives analyzed, also in order to develop an independent view of public communication within the contemporary media environment; 4. (Learning skills): Acquire sound text analysis skills, including the ability to make connections between different topics.