My scholarship focuses on environmental communication: how we interpret and experience the natural world through rhetoric.
I study how environmental rhetoric influences our understanding of the world in a variety of contexts. I use critical rhetorical analysis to explore the aesthetic and ethical implications of the ways we communicate about the environment.
An overarching question that guides my research is how we communicate and create a sense of place. Through our relationship with place, we gain perspective of the world that influences our sense of self within our community and surrounding environment. Our sense of place is profoundly rhetorical because the stories we tell about a place give it meaning.
Stories of place offer environmental and cultural narratives that influence individual and collective identity. Historical narratives animate my methodological focus of environmental rhetorical history. A history of place can be understood through the rhetorical articulation of a community’s relationship with the environment.
My work in environmental communication spans a variety of discursive contexts. A thread throughout my work is how mediated environmental discourse influences our attitudes and perceptions of environmental issues. I am particularly interested in the influence of environmental aesthetics on our perceived ethical responsibility for environmental issues.
My research in advocacy and activism examines environmental communities, global justice movements, and pedagogical practice. Embodied rhetorics of activism and advocacy deconstruct our understanding of public space in response to social, cultural, and environmental exigencies.
An interdisciplinary thread of my research is environmental education focusing on sustainability education, climate literacy, community engagement and integrative learning.
Click the images to learn more and explore my research on my Scholarworks Page.
If you’re interested in Environmental Communication, check out the International Environmental Communication Association!
