Hermeneutics, Narratives, and Terministic Screens in a Time of Climate Crisis

Abstract

The chapter uses a theoretical and methodological framework that draws from hermeneutics, the concept of terministic screens, and narrative communication strategies to reinvision how communication about climate change can lead to climate action and can create dialogue and discussions that encourage us to participate as climate change agents in our communities. The authors emphasize the importance of interpretation and reinterpretation of our positionalities as human participants in the global climate crisis and show that discussions need to include individuals and groups regardless of race, gender, sexuality, culture, socio-economic background, nationality, or generational knowledge. The authors argue that we need to change how we participate in and consume social media and engage in constructive and intersectional conversations about climate change where we listen to one another and create opportunities for arriving at solutions that question and go beyond maintaining societal systems that benefit and privilege established heteronormative power structures.