The Symbolic Earth: Discourse and Our Creation of the Environment - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0813108837 ISBN 13: 9780813108834

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky, 1996

Synopsis

The core dilemma in environmental advocacy may be illustrated by the question, "When we communicate about the world, should we stress what we know or what we feel?" The contributors to The Symbolic Earth argue that it is more important to decide how we should talk about what we know and feel. In their view, the environment is larely a product of how we talk about the world.

Because the environment is a social construction, the only hope we have of preserving it is to understand and alter the fundamental ways we discuss it. This collection first examines the ways in which discourse creates environment perceptions. Subjects discussed range from the description of natural scenery to the advocacy of political interest groups, from the everyday interactions of citizens facing environmental crises to the greenwashing of corporate imagemakers, and from the psychology of the mass public to the social constructions of the mass media. The authors include nationally known scholars of environmental history, rhetorical theory, ethnography, communication and journalism studies, public policy, and media criticism.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Believing that the environment is largely a product of how we talk about the world, the contributors to The Symbolic Earth argue that the only hope we have of preserving the environment is to understand and alter the fundamental ways we discuss it.

About the Author

James G. Cantrill is associate professor of communication and performance studies at Northern Michigan University.

Christine L. Oravec is professor of communication at the University of Utah.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0813108837
• ISBN 13: 9780813108834
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296
• Editor: Cantrill James G., Oravec Christine L.