Module manager: Chris Paterson
Email: c.paterson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
As Climate Change is increasingly accepted as the existential threat of the modern era, there is a pressing need for students to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to communicate about it. This module is designed to make students better consumers, critics, investigators, and producers of climate and environmental communication. The module raises student awareness of climate change issues, concerns, and concepts and how they are conveyed in the UK and around the world. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module will address themes and theory relevant to climate communication including conceptual and historical contexts, political and social dimensions of climate change and climate change denial, the relationship between media and climate change, environmental movements and campaigns, and science and risk communication. The following questions guide learning in the module: What is climate communication? How do people communicate and think about climate change? How can messages about climate change and the environment be crafted to change people’s attitudes and behaviour? Why is climate communication important?
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Analyse climate communications and their effectiveness across a range of media genres and explain the role of media in relation to climate change
2. Confidently create journalism and critical research about climate change and the discourse surrounding it
3. Reflect critically on their own knowledge of and attitude to climate change and how it is communicated
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
4. Apply critical thinking and analytical skills in relation to the public communication of environmental and climate crisis
5. Apply theoretical constructs to specific case-studies and everyday life contexts
6. Deploy research skills (e.g. case-study design, archival and field research) that may be useful and transferable in careers relating to the public communication of environmental and climate crisis and environmental policy and activism.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Private study should be dedicated to (times are indicative) -
Weekly preparation for lectures (reading) and supplementary multimedia screening linked to Minerva: 59 hours
Identifying the assignment one media case study, discussion with tutor, writing critique: 40 hours
Final assignment research (potentially including source interviewing) and preparation: 80 hours
Seminar discussions will encourage student engagement and allow the teaching team to continually assess individual engagement and understanding of key concepts. The deadline for assignment one is intended to allow students ample time to reflect on feedback about their research and writing as they prepare assignment two.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay or Dissertation | Essay | 60 |
| Critique | critical analysis | 40 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The first, critical analysis, assignment can be resit, but an entirely different media artefact should be chosen with approval of the tutor. The second assignment can be resit, but an entirely different topic should be chosen with approval of the tutor.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team