Discourses of Sustainability Transitions
Please note that this school takes place in January, which is the summer period in South Africa.
What can we learn from the way public figures, ranging from politicians and activists to journalists and academics, talk about climate change, social and environmental justice?
How does their choice of rhetoric, language, and presentation reveal to us the underlying assumptions and values shaping their beliefs about “what is wrong”, “what needs to change” and “how to act appropriately” in the present moment?
Most importantly, why does paying attention to discourse and words matter so much in the struggle to save the planet? What does language have to do with material change?
Over the course of this winter/summer school, participants will study the relationship between discourse, worldview, ontology and ethics, particularly in regard to questions of just sustainability transitions (in particular just water / food / energy nexus transitions). How are arguments for more sustainable ways to live on this planet being mediated to audiences? Who is doing the mediating, and how does the message change, depending on the speaker and audience?
The goal of this week is to learn the impact that discourse has on material culture and then put this into practice by working with societal stakeholders to develop powerful communicative platforms using rhetoric that is both effective and aligns with their underlying values. For example, how can an organic farmer, committed to decolonial ecological values, win agricultural grants from the government without resorting to capitalistic rhetoric?
We will also introduce the practice of agile design thinking, which participants will use with their community partners as they conceptualise and execute their projects.
| Last modified: | 23 October 2024 4.22 p.m. |