The course will be conducted online in distance mode regardless of the COVID situation. We organize around a SLACK channel and use MS Teams for video-lectures. 

The Earth is heating up as a direct result of human activity. The landmark 2018 IPCC report gave us 12 years to cut our carbon emissions down by a half, to decrease risk of global catastrophic scenario. Emerging global movements have not yet produced the pressure on the governments to force the emergency response that is required. Amidst a global pandemic, less than 10 years remain.

We need to rapidly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and in this course, we will look for ways of applying our marketing minds to help this along. Historically, marketing has helped deliver vast profits to global business by telling stories about products and lives of consumers, and in doing so, marketers have contributed to the culture of over-consumption and the associated emissions. Can we now play a significant role as part of the solution? What new stories would we need to tell in times of a climate crisis?

Is it enough to put a price on carbon, or do we need to rethink our entire way of life? Does capitalism survive the climate crisis, or is the system about to change? We will discuss these and other topics around the climate crisis, and explore how we could best contribute to this critical discussion. applying our marketing skills and ideas. For example, translating the language of scientists into campaigns and initiatives that the public understands and likes. Basing our efforts in science and economics, we will aim to advance our knowledge and public acceptance of instruments of radical change that can still make a difference and turn the scary climate proposition into the opportunity of a lifetime.

The course aims to provide a perspective on the complex hyperobject of the global climate crisis. Each lecture will introduce a new point of view (i.e. history, psychology, climate science, economics, ecology...) and together we'll discuss implications and connections with the broad field of marketing. The students will be given freedom to find effective ways of spreading their findings through web and social media.

BY DEFAULT, THIS WILL BE A DISTANCE MODE COURSE.

We will have regular meetings on the dates outlined above where attendance is expected - you're allowed to miss 20% of these with a valid excuse.

Short lectures, group work, individual work, guest lectures.

The grading will consist of the following components: 

Individual engagement (25%)

A number of simple tasks will be assigned to everyone throughout the course, i.e. introduce yourself, give your input on an idea, some short creative writing.  

Group project / Final individual reflection (25%)

There will be a number of small projects where students can work together in groups of 3-5. If you can't work with a group, you can elect to write a final paper (~1000 words, topics provided later).

Peer evaluation (25%)

You will be asked to assess (some of) your colleagues’ performance based on:

- quality of their work

- engagement

The instructor reserves the right to ask students about their evaluations and adapt the outcome of this component accordingly. 

Social media challenge (25%)

We have built several Social Media channels for the course (Facebook/Instagram/Linkedin/Youtube). Each student will be given the chance to create social media content, aiming to maximize growth and engagement.

GRADING:

< 60%                       fail (5)
60% to 69,99%         sufficient (4)
70% to 79,99%         satisfactory (3)
80% to 89,99%          good (2)
>= 90%                      excellent (1)

Being a motivated student who likes to take initiative and be creative.

Strong interest in climate related topics is expected.

consultations via Slack or email: jan.valendin@wu.ac.at