The aim of the Sociology of the Environment and Communication course unit is to understand the social dimensions of climate change and, more specifically, those related to communication, assuming that it is through these that the level of interaction that politically projects the environmental problem of climate change is generated. Topics such as the perception and management of the problem; the construction of scientific and common knowledge; public participation and decision-making processes in contexts of urgency and complexity are highlighted. The course aims to:
(a) To provide an in-depth and critical overview of the emergence and development of the disciplinary field of Environmental Sociology, its history and characterisation – highlighting the role of the social sciences and their historical capital in understanding environmental issues, insofar as these are problems generated by societies and can only be addressed and resolved by integrating knowledge from the social sciences;
(c) Develop, with reference to various aspects of climate change, specific issues relating to scientific and common knowledge; perception of the problem and its effects on behaviour; the social and territorial implications of the problem; new conditions for the implementation of public policies affecting different territorial scales and considering issues of social participation.