Co-Chair: Hanna E. Morris, University of Toronto
Co-Chair: Rachel Wetts, Brown University
The Critical Studies of Climate Media, Discourse, and Power Working Group centers questions of culture, communication, and climate politics. The working group consists of twenty-four scholars from different disciplines, methodologies, and geographical locations.
Together the group analyzes the role of media and other institutions in amplifying patterns of discourse. In particular, the working group focuses on patterns of communication that impede and obstruct comprehensive and equitable responses to the climate crisis. The working group also examines instances when these institutions have promoted positive action to address climate change. The ultimate goal for this group is to foster collaborative projects and provide feedback on individual and collective works-in-progress.
Currently, the working group is developing several research projects ahead of the summer release of the IPCC AR6.
The projects consist of:
- an historical & critical rhetorical study of media coverage of IPCC reports across political contexts within the United States;
- a computational analysis of Twitter data and Tweets mentioning the report; and
- a comparative content analysis of coverage of the report in the US, UK, and Sweden.
The working group is also developing additional projects that will contribute supplemental studies on processes of denial, obstruction, and misinformation that the IPCC does not include in their report.