Climate Change and Storytelling, 1st ed. 2018 Narratives and Cultural Meaning in Environmental Communication Palgrave Studies in Environmental Sociology and Policy Series

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. 

1. Introduction: Why Narratives Matter in Climate Change Communication .- 2. Climate Change Communication Studies: Inquiries into Beliefs, Information and Stories .- 3. How to Understand the Role of Narratives in Environmental Communication: Cultural Narrative Analysis .- 4. Telling the Stories of Climate Change: Structure and Content .- 5. Conclusion: Pitfalls and the Power of Narratives.

Annika Arnold is Senior Researcher at the Center for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Studies (ZIRIUS), Stuttgart University, Germany. She is an environmental and cultural sociologist whose research focuses on topics of sustainable development and environmental communication, largely from a cultural perspective.