Climate Change and Storytelling: Narratives and Cultural Meaning in Environmental Communication (Palgrave Studies in Environmental Sociology and Policy)

Climate change is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a natural one. This book is about those cultural patterns that surround our perception of the environmental crisis and which are embodied in the narratives told by climate change advocates. It investigates the themes and motifs in those narratives through the use of narrative theory and cultural sociology. Developing a framework for cultural narrative analysis, Climate Change and Storytelling draws on qualitative interviews with stakeholders, activists and politicians in the USA and Germany to identify motifs and the relationships between heroes, villains and victims, as told by the messengers of the narrative. This book will provide academics and practitioners with insights into the structure of climate change communication among climate advocates and the cultural fabric that informs it. Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 List of Figures 8 List of Tables 9 Chapter 1: Introduction: Why Narratives Matter in Climate Change Communication 10 Using This Book 13 References 13 Chapter 2: Climate Change Communication Studies: Inquiries into Beliefs, Information and Stories 16 Risk Perception and Risk Communication 17 Discourse-Analytic Studies: Media Logic, Scientific Reporting and Science Communication 21 Media Coverage of Climate Change I: The Issue Attention Cycle 24 Media Coverage of Climate Change II: The Norm of Balanced Reporting 27 Science Communication: Critiquing the Deficit Model of Information 28 The Role of Culture in Climate Change Research 32 Cultural Studies and Cultural Theory Approaches 36 Cultural Sociology Approach Towards Climate Change 47 Lessons Learned from the State of Research 52 References 55 Chapter 3: How to Understand the Role of Narratives in Environmental Communication: Cultural Narrative Analysis 65 The Role of Narrative in Social Organization 67 Formal Definitions of Narrative 70 A Typology of Narrative Analysis 71 The Structural Model of Narrative: The Structure of Narrative 72 The Structural Model of Genre: The Form of Narrative 75 The Narrative Policy Framework: The Content of Narrative 80 Shortcomings of the Presented Models of Narrative Analysis 82 Structure – Form – Content: Towards an Integrated Model of Cultural Narrative Analysis 83 References 87 Chapter 4: Telling the Stories of Climate Change: Structure and Content 90 Methods 91 Putting a Price on Things: Serving the Economic Rationale 94 Negative Economic Consequences 95 Content 95 Structure 98 Positive Economic Consequences 99 Content 99 Structure 102 Climate Change in the Political Arena: Two Contexts of Climate Change as a Political Issue 103 Climate Change as Partisan Distinction 103 Content 103 Structure 107 Climate Change Reflecting the Role of a Nation 109 Content 109 Structure 111 The World Is (Not) Enough: Environmental Concerns as a Topic of Morality 114 Content 114 Structure 118 About the “Global” in “Global Warming”: Solidarity and Responsibility as Motivators 121 Structure 122 Historic Responsibility 124 Content 124 Structure 127 References 128 Chapter 5: Conclusions: Pitfalls and the Power of Narratives 130 Recurring Motifs and Themes 131 Topics as Result of the Relationship Between Storyteller and Audience 132 Boundaries Between Characters 134 References 139 Index 141 Climate change is as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a natural one. This book is about those cultural patterns that surround our perception of the environmental crisis and which are embodied in the narratives told by climate change advocates. It investigates the themes and motifs in those narratives through the use of narrative theory and provides a framework for narrative analysis from a cultural perspective. Developing a framework for cultural narrative analysis, Climate Change and Storytelling draws on qualitative interviews with stakeholders, activists and politicians in the USA and Germany to identify motifs and the relationships between heroes, villains and victims, as told by the messengers of the narrative. This book will provide academics and practitioners with insights into the structure of climate change communication among climate advocates and the cultural fabric that informs it. .-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction: Why Narratives Matter in Climate Change Communication (Annika Arnold)....Pages 1-6 Climate Change Communication Studies: Inquiries into Beliefs, Information and Stories (Annika Arnold)....Pages 7-55 How to Understand the Role of Narratives in Environmental Communication: Cultural Narrative Analysis (Annika Arnold)....Pages 57-81 Telling the Stories of Climate Change: Structure and Content (Annika Arnold)....Pages 83-122 Conclusions: Pitfalls and the Power of Narratives (Annika Arnold)....Pages 123-133 Back Matter ....Pages 135-136