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Environment, Communication & Society
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies

The Environment, Communication and Society (ECS) Option focuses on the many ways that communication, broadly defined, intersects environmental affairs. These include activism, media, education, public participation, and conflict resolution. In addition, the Option helps students explore the diversity of ways that environmental problems are understood, and ways that cultural meanings of nature are expressed, including through literature and the arts. No matter where your career path leads, the critical value of having a strategic, systems-based, and skilled understanding of communication dynamics and processes cannot be exaggerated. The Environmental Communication, Culture and Writing Option is based on the premise that it is through written, oral, and visual communication that humans determine their relationship with the rest of the planet and with each other concerning it. Therefore, the Option is committed to equipping students with increased knowledge and skills to contribute to the effectiveness of all aspects of the environmental, civic, governmental, non-government organizations, and business communities.

We provide a broad-based foundation in environmental communication theory and application through core courses that all students in the Option take. Yet we know students have individual interests and plans, so the Option is flexible enough so students can choose Option courses and Option methods courses that make the most sense. Individual interests that students may pursue as part of this Option include literature of nature, environmental values and ethics, the meanings of nature, advocacy, collaboration, leadership and group processes, dispute resolution, mass media and popular culture, information use, environmental journalism, and environmental education/ interpretation.
The Environment, Communication and Society Option is based on four key ideas.

• Communication among Diverse Perspectives: We seek to strengthen students’ ability to identify and appreciate their own and others ideological and cultural
  perspectives as expressed in written, oral, and visual discourse. This increases students ability to better understand and participate in key ecological debates; work effectively with scientific, resource management, governmental and advocacy communities to address complex environmental issues; and build campaigns and educational programs.
• Theory into Practice: We place a primary emphasis on the application of theory so that students gain informed skills they can strategically use in diverse settings in non-government organizations, industry, government or wherever their professional lives take them. We highly value service learning, experiential learning, and field experiences as part of a student’s program.
• Critical Thinking: We encourage students to think critically about cultural patterns, economic and political lives, ethics, risk, science, the mass media, popular culture, literature, and other means by which we humans socially construct our beliefs, attitudes, policies, and behaviors. We encourage students to especially think critically about ecological degradation, power and beauty.
• Preparing for the Long Haul: We recognize the value of the “whole person” and reflect this in our emphasis on spirit, imagination, celebration, connection to the natural world, emotional and artistic expression, building an affirming community, and sharing reflections on the personal challenges environmental
  professionals face. We want students to connect with the sources of their own deepest passions.

Environment, Communication & Society (ECS) Option Courses
An ECS Option Course is one that allows students to expand or deepen their understanding of those aspects and intersections of environment, communication and society. It is in the selection of these courses that students are able to more deeply explore their individual interests. The following is a list of courses students may select from. Other Upper Division courses may be selected in consultation with your Advisor and students are urged to explore what else is available that meets their learning objectives. Be careful to make sure that you meet the prerequisites for a course before signing up.

Option Requirement Overview

All courses in the Communication, Environment, and Society Option are offered at ESF.