[Commlist] Cfp Sustainability, and Education: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate and Communication (Conference)

Conference

Università degli Studi Internazionali di Roma (UNINT), Via Cristoforo
Colombo 200, 00147
00147 Rome, Italy

Date: 25/03/2026 - 26/03/2026
Registration deadline: 14/01/2026
Call for papers ending on: 30/10/2026

Call for Papers DN33 - Discourse, Sustainability, and Education:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate and Communication 26-27 March
2026, University of International Studies (UNINT) in Rome, Italy
In recent decades, the discourse surrounding sustainability and climate
change has become central to global public debates, policy-making, activism,
education, and everyday life. Discourses on the environment frame not only
what is perceived as the climate crisis but also what solutions,
responsibilities, and futures are imaginable or excluded (Hajer, 1995 [1];
Dryzek, 2013 [2]; Stibbe, 2021 [3]). This framing takes shape through media
narratives, political communication, and institutional discourses that both
reflect and influence public engagement (Carvalho & Burgess, 2005 [4];
Boykoff, 2008 [5]; Cox & Pezzullo, 2019 [6]; Moser, 2010 [7]).

Education has also emerged as a key arena for cultivating sustainable
mindsets and practices, where language, texts, and multimodal communication
play crucial roles in influencing knowledge, instilling values, and guiding
actions at all levels—from higher education curricula to narrative design
in climate change education (UNESCO, 2020 [8], 2021 [9]; Sonetti, 2020 [10];
Deriu, 2024 [11]; D’Orto, 2025 [12]). At the same time, discourse-oriented
research has shown how pedagogical strategies, framing devices, and
communicative practices affect learners’ agency, identity, and capacity for
transformative change (Sterling, 2011 [13]; Russo & Bevitori, 2023 [14], 
2024
[15]).

This conference invites scholars to critically examine how sustainabilityand
climate issues are communicated, contested, and enacted through discourse in
diverse social, institutional, and technological contexts. We seek to 
explore
how discourse contributes to constructing environmental problems, mobilising
collective action, and framing pedagogical approaches to sustainability
education. Contributions that interrogate how discursive practices may
reinforce inequities, marginalise certain voices, or limit transformative
change (Fairclough, 2015 [16]; Whyte, 2017 [17]; Wodak, 2021 [18]; Sultana,
2022 [19]) are also welcome.

We invite papers from across the full spectrum of discourse
studies—including but not limited to critical, multimodal, narrative,
ethnographic, interactional, corpus-based, and practice-oriented
approaches—and encourage interdisciplinary perspectives drawing from
linguistics, education, media and communication studies, sociology,
environmental humanities, and political science (van Dijk, 2008 [20];
Charteris-Black, 2018 [21]; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2021 [22]).

Possible topics and questions include (but are not limited to):

How are climate change and sustainability represented in media, policy, and
public discourse?What discursive strategies seem to encourage or hinder
sustainable behaviour and collective action?How do the ways we talk and 
write
about climate issues in educational settings influence learners’ attitudes,
knowledge, and sense of agency?How are ideas of climate responsibility and
justice constructed across institutional, corporate, and activist
discourses?What part do digital media, AI-generated content, and algorithmic
systems play in shaping environmental narratives?How can discourse analysis
contribute to interdisciplinary dialogue and inspire meaningful action for
sustainability?
We hope the conference will foster theoretical, methodological, and ethical
reflection on how discourse studies can contribute to more sustainable,
inclusive futures.

Topics and Panels
We invite proposals for 20-minute presentations (followed by 10 minutes of
discussion) that align with the conference theme and fit into one of the
broad panels. Proposals on related topics are also welcome.

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts should be 250 words (excluding title and references)and
anonymous.Include the title of your paper, your name, affiliation, and email
address in a separate title page (.doc or .docx format).Use APA 7th edition
style for references.Submit your abstract via email to 
(dn33rome2026 /at/ gmail.com)
[23].Presentations are expected to be in English. Multilingual panels maybe
considered if sufficient interest arises.
Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: 31 October 2025
Notification of acceptance: 28 November 2025
Registration deadline: 15 January 2026



Fees & Registration
Participants are required to hold an active DiscourseNet membership (€60
for 2 years) and pay a €60 participation fee which additionally covers:

Catering (refreshments, lunches) Social dinner
You can obtain a valid DN membership via this link [24]. More 
information can
be found here [25]. The participation fee is to be paid directly via the
DiscourseNet website. Payment instructions will be sent along with the
acceptance notification. Participants will be considered registered once DN
membership and the participation fee have been paid.

The DN33 is open to non-presenting participants on condition that they they
hold an active DiscourseNet membership.

An exception concerning the DN membership fee is made fornon-presenting
participants of the host institution (UNINT).

Venue & Practical Information
The conference will take place in person at Università degli Studi
Internazionali di Roma (UNINT), Via Cristoforo Colombo 200, 00147 Rome,
Italy.

Further details about the venue, travel, accommodation, and the conference
programme will be published on the conference webpage hosted on
the DiscourseNet portaland on the UNINT website (Events section).

Audience & Participation

We welcome participation from early-career researchers, established 
scholars,
and professionals interested in the interdisciplinary intersections of
discourse, education, and climate communication.

Publication Opportunities

Selected contributions may be considered for publication in the DiscourseNet
Work-in-Progress Series, the Palgrave Book Series, or UNINT’s forthcoming
interdisciplinary journal on climate and discourse.

Committees and Organisation

Local Organising Committee (UNINT): Marina Brancaccio and Cristina Benicchi

International Organising Committee: Thomas Jacobs and Benno Herzog

Scientific Committee: Bevitori, Cinzia (UNIBO); Benicchi, Cristina (UNINT);
Bortoluzzi, Maria (UNIUD); Boyd, Michael S. (ROMA TRE); Brancaccio, Marina
(UNINT); Caimotto, Maria Cristina (UNITO); Frontera, Manuela (UNINT); Grego
Kim (UNIMI); Herzog, Benno (UV.ES); Jacobs, Thomas (UCLouvain); Milizia,
Denise (UNIBA); Mori, Laura (UNINT); Patera Salvatore (UNINT); Re, Anna
(IULM); Russo, Katherine E. (UNIOR); Zappettini, Franco (SAPIENZA)

Keynote(s): name(s) to be announced soon

Contact

For questions, please contact the organising team at: (dn33rome2026 /at/ gmail.com)
[26]

Selected References

Bortoluzzi, M., & Zurru, E. (Eds.). (2024). Ecological communication and
ecoliteracy: Discourses of awareness and action for the lifescape. 
Bloomsbury
Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350335851 [27]

Boykoff, M. T. (2008). Media and scientific communication: A case of climate
change. In D. G. E. Liverman, C. P. G. Pereira, & B. Marker
(Eds.), Communicating environmental geoscience (pp. 11–18). Geological
Society of London. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP305.3 [28]

Carvalho, A. (2007). Ideological cultures and media discourses on scientific
knowledge: Re-reading news on climate change. Public Understanding of
Science, 16(2), 223-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506066775 [29]

Carvalho, A. (2010). Media(ted) discourses and climate change: A focus on
political subjectivity and (dis)engagement. WIREs Climate Change, 1(2),
172-179.

Carvalho, A., & Burgess, J. (2005). Cultural circuits of climate change 
in UK
broadsheet newspapers, 1985–2003. Risk Analysis, 25(6),
1457–1469. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2005.00692.x
[30]

Carvalho, A., & Peterson, T. R. (Eds.). (2012). Climate Change Politics:
Communication and Public Engagement. Cambria Press.

Carvalho, A., van Wessel, M., & Maeseele, P. (2017). Communicating the
Environment: Challenges and Futures for Environmental Media and
Communication. Palgrave Macmillan.

Catenaccio, P., Garzone, G., & Reisigl, M. (2023). Introduction. Dimensions
of framing: Representation, cognition, interaction [Editorial]. Textus,
1(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.7370/108616 [31]

Charteris‑Black, J. (2018). Analysing political speeches: Rhetoric,
discourse and metaphor (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.

Charteris-Black, J. (2021). Crisis and Coronavirus: Metaphor, Symbol and
Schema. Cambridge University Press.

Corner, A., Whitmarsh, L., & Xenias, D. (2012). Uncertainty, scepticism and
attitudes towards climate change: Biased assimilation and attitude
polarisation. Climatic Change, 114(3-4), 463-478.

Cox, R., & Pezzullo, P. C. (2019). Environmental communication and the
public sphere (5th ed.). Sage.

Demata, M. (2017). Representations of climate change refugees in The
Guardian and The New York Times. Anglistica AION, 21(2),
23–35. https://doi.org/10.19231/angl‑aion.201722 [32]

Deriu, F. (2024). Sustainable green educational paths in the Italian higher
education landscape: An analysis of green degree programmes. Sustainability,
16(13), 5497. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135497 [33]

D’Orto, E. (2025). Narrativity and climate change education: Design of an
operable narrative framework. Sustainability, 17(4), 1587.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17041587 [34]

Dryzek, J. S. (2013). The Politics of the Earth: Environmental
Discourses (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Entman, R. M. (2004). Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion,
and U.S. Foreign Policy. University of Chicago Press.

Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and Power (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (30th anniversary ed.).
Continuum.

Hajer, M. A. (1995). The politics of environmental discourse: Ecological
modernization and the policy process. Oxford University Press.

Hansen, A., & Machin, D. (2019). Media and Communication Research
Methods (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Hulme, M. (2009). Why we disagree about climate change: Understanding
controversy, inaction and opportunity. Cambridge University
Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511841200 [35]

Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2021). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual
Design (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Lakoff, G. (2010). Why it matters how we frame the
environment. Environmental Communication, 4(1), 70-81.

Lorenzoni, I., Nicholson-Cole, S., & Whitmarsh, L. (2007). Barriers 
perceived
to engaging with climate change among the UK public and their policy
implications. Global Environmental Change, 17(3–4),
445–459. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.01.004 [36]

Machin, D. (2013). What is multimodal critical discourse analysis? Critical
Discourse Studies, 10(4), 347-355.

Moser, S. C. (2010). Communicating climate change: History, challenges,
process and future directions. WIREs Climate Change, 1(1),
31–53. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.11 [37]

Nerlich, B., Koteyko, N., & Brown, B. (2010). Theory and language of climate
change communication. WIREs Climate Change, 1(1),
97–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.2 [38]

Pearce, W., Holmberg, K., Hellsten, I., & Nerlich, B. (2014). Climate change
on Twitter: Topics, communities and conversations about the 2013 IPCC 
Working
Group 1 report. PLOS ONE, 9(2), e87431.

Pink, S., Horst, H., Postill, J., Hjorth, L., Lewis, T., & Tacchi, J.
(2016). Digital Ethnography: Principles and Practice. Sage.

Russo, K. E., & Bevitori, C. (2023). Environment, climate and health at the
crossroads: A critical analysis of public policy and political communication
discourse in the EU. In P. Cap (Ed.), Handbook of Political Discourse (pp.
328–344). Edward Elgar.

Russo, K. E., & Bevitori, C. (2024). The language of crisis in the
“virocene”: A critical corpus-informed analysis of COVID-19 and climate
change discourse in the EU. Iperstoria,
(23). https://doi.org/10.13136/2281-4582/2024.i231444 [39]

Sonetti, G. (2020). A review of current strategies within Italian
universities’ education for sustainability initiatives (2016–2019).
Sustainability, 12(13), Article 5246. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135246
[40]

Sterling, S. (2011). Transformative learning and sustainability: Sketching
the conceptual ground. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 5, 17-33.

Stibbe, A. (2021). Ecolinguistics: Language, Ecology and the Stories We Live
By (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Sultana, F. (2022). Critical climate justice. The Geographical Journal,
188(1), 118-124.

UNESCO. (2020). Education for sustainable development: A
roadmap. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802 [41]

UNESCO. (2021). Getting every school climate-ready: How countries are
integrating climate change issues in
education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379566 [42]

van Dijk, T. A. (2008). Discourse and power. Palgrave Macmillan.

Whyte, K. (2017). The Dakota Access Pipeline, environmental injustice, and
U.S. colonialism. Red Ink, 19(1), 154-169.

Wodak, R. (2021). The Politics of Fear: The Shameless Normalization of
Far-Right Discourse. Sage.


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