Course code: ME3V19001 | BA Media and Culture, level 3 (Bachelor Gevorderd) | Block 1
Taught by: Prof. dr. Joost Raessens, Dr. Stefan Werning, Dr. Désirée Förster

For more information on administrative details, required reading, assignments/grading and more, see the Osiris page of the course.
Examining the ways in which green media can influence the public’s awareness of environmental issues, this course is a critical starting point for students researching and studying the growing field of green media studies as a subdiscipline within the environmental humanities. After completing this course, students will be able to …

• … develop a critical perspective on how (green) media – in a broader sense, including digital media, transmedia, theatre, film and television – construct (playful forms of) civic engagement;
• … reflect on how (green) media can influence the public’s awareness of societal (environmental) challenges by building alternative storyworlds, suggesting interpretations and positioning its users in medium-specific ways.
• … recognize the environmental impact of today’s (green) media practices;
• … conduct a media-comparative analysis of contemporary green media phenomena;
• … articulate and operationalize valid research questions about green media practices;
• … write academically on this subject on an advanced level;
• … use their methodological skills to conduct a framing, discourse and affordance analysis.

To register for the tutorial (RMA Media, Arts and Performance Studies), contact Dr. Laura Karreman (program coordinator) and Prof. Dr. Joost Raessens | Dr. Stefan Werning (course coordinators) via email.
The tutorial – which can be taken individually or in small groups – offers an introduction into the growing field of Green Media studies as a subdiscipline within the Environmental Humanities; it demonstrates how a media-comparative perspective can enrich our understanding of contemporary developments in regards to the climate crisis and sustainable futures.
Media are increasingly used to support and frame environmental action by companies, NGOs, activists and related groups, as well as to persuade people to adopt ecological identities and lifestyles. The tutorial acknowledges how environmental justice and social justice are intrinsically interconnected, how Green Media might promote global ecological citizenship but also the increasing ecological impact of media technologies. Participants can define their own research focus in relation to key environmental issues as these are represented in一and connected to the production, distribution and consumption ofーgames, VR, social media, data visualizations, transmedia, film, documentaries, television series, theatre, art, literature, and more.
Relevant questions include (but are not limited to):

• How do green media construct forms of civic engagement on a micro, meso and macro level?
• How do we conceptualize the epistemic and sociotechnical implications of Green Media from a comparative perspective?
• How can Green Media help transform existing industries as well as corresponding cultural and business practices?
• What is the ecological footprint of media production, distribution and consumption, and how could sustainable alternatives look like?

The tutorial is available to all students of the RMA program Media, Arts and Performance Studies as well as, on an individual basis, to participants of other RMA programs with a thematic connection to Green Media.

In September 2021, the Green Media Studies initiative launched the first iteration of the Social Innovation module as part of the CHARM-EU MA program Global Challenges for Sustainability.

The module aims to help students develop the knowledge, skills and tools to turn ideas into action through an advanced understanding of the creative, communicative and innovation processes that drive sustainability transformations.
Its curriculum spans 17 weeks plus an introductory design challenge (hackathon), during which students learn how to creatively encourage civic engagement (mobilising social, political, business action) in all three challenge themes of the program (water, food and life/health).

The CHARM-EU Master’s in Global Challenges for Sustainability offers a unique international learning opportunity. CHARM-EU students will have the chance to address the pressing need for sustainability in a transdisciplinary and challenge-based environment. This master is an initiative of the five CHARM-EU partner universities:

• University of Barcelona,
• Trinity College Dublin,
• Utrecht University,
• Eötvös Loránd University and
• University of Montpellier.

For more information, contact Alvaro Lopez Navarro (course coordinator) via email. Teachers involved: Alvaro Lopez Navarro, Joost Raessens, Stefan Werning.