The affective dimension of crisis subjects: Teaching Environmental Communication through intersecting crises

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

The article investigates the affective dimensions of learning in “crisis subjects” within intersecting emergencies, focusing on Australian university teachers and students in Environmental Communication. It examines how educators address distress, anxiety, grief and dissociation, and how climate-change driven drought, catastrophic bushfires, and Covid-19 shape student experience. Using the psychoanalytic concept of “difficult knowledge,” it argues that students and educators need new capacities and resources to confront collective social trauma.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background context: A period of intersecting crises

Environmental Communication and pedagogies of crisis: Confronting “difficult knowledge” in higher education

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 62, Number 3, November 2022 The affective dimension of crisis subjects: Teaching Environmental Communication through intersecting crises Tania Leimbach Jennifer Kent Jeremy Walker University of Technology Sydney Confronting the existential threat of climate and ecological crises in undergraduate teaching presents complex challenges. Educatorsin environmental and climate change studies rightly communicate the scale and urgency of these unfolding crises, yet at times fail to take into account the emotional and mental health impacts upon students acquiring this knowledge. This article examines the affective dimensions of learning in ‘crisis subjects’. It draws insights from case study research on the experience of Australian university teachers and students in a subject called Environmental Communication, delivered during a period of intersecting crises: climate-change driven drought, catastrophic bushfires, and the emergence ofCovid-19. The psychoanalytic concept of‘difficult knowledge’(Britzman, 1998; 2004) is taken up to shed light on the inherent challenges of teaching and learning in this context. Many students in the study were deeply 326 Tania Leimbach, Jennifer Kent and Jeremy Walker affected by their learning experience, and recognise its importance, but also struggle to integrate it with anticipated future roles. The authors argue that students and educators need new knowledge, capacities and resources to address the affective dimension of teaching and learning and to grapple with the collective social trauma of the climate crisis. Keywords: crisis pedagogy, affect, environmental communication, climate change education, difficult knowledge Introduction This article examines the affective implications of learning and teaching within a “crisis” subject during a heightened period of intersecting crises. It was prompted by questions of how educators may acknowledge and engage with feelings of distress, anxiety, grief and dissociation in the student body (Wallace et al., 2020; Verlie, 2020), in ways that are meaningful and potentially empowering for both students and educators. The research was conducted by academics teaching an undergraduate level environmental studies subject taught at the University of Technology Sydney (Australia) called Environmental Communication. Environmental communication is a recently defined interdisciplinary field and an emerging area of pedagogical research. Underpinned by a commitment to social and environmental justice, as a field of research it studies science, environment and policy communication in the public sphere (Cox & Depoe, 2015) . It has been referred to as a “crisis discipline”, one that confronts urgent existential questions. The findings presented in this article orient around two central concerns. The first considers the affective implications of subject content and instructional methods in subjects that expose students to climate and ecological crisis, from a normative commitment to both inter-generational justice and an ethics of care toward students. The second considers approaches to pedagogy, and asks to what extent it is possible to assist students to develop a sense of agency (personal and collective) when faced, as young people, with the existential crisis of climate and ecological breakdown. Presenting an evidence-based critical reflection on our experiences of teaching and learning in this context, The affective dimension of crisis subjects: 327 Teaching Environmental Communication through intersecting crises the article contributes to scholarly debates of crisis within the field of environmental communication and pedagogical innovation in climate change education (CCE) broadly. Background context: A period of intersecting crises With 18.6 million hectares of land burnt, the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 were the most extensive and devastating on record in Australia (van Eeden et al., 20

FAQs

What does the article mean by the “affective dimension” of crisis subjects?

It focuses on emotional and mental health impacts that arise when students learn about climate and ecological crises. The study explores how learning experiences affect distress, anxiety, grief, and dissociation.

Which intersecting crises frame the research context?

The article centers on climate-change driven drought, catastrophic bushfires, and the emergence of Covid-19. These events shape the teaching and learning experiences in the Environmental Communication subject.

How does the article use “difficult knowledge” in relation to teaching and learning?

It applies the psychoanalytic concept of “difficult knowledge” to explain the inherent challenges students and educators face when engaging with crisis topics. The paper links these challenges to struggles integrating learning with anticipated future roles.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran