Stories to Save Our Planet

The United Nations have called climate change the challenge of our generation. Fiorenza Micheli, Chair of Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, says that the problems of climate change are too complex and happening so fast that we "have to co-create solutions from the start to address issues in sustainability and climate." Storytelling offers us the opportunity to witness and communicate the impact of climate change and bring clarity and understanding to its solutions. This course is designed to equip students with the skills, tools, and process to transform complicated climate solutions into compelling audio stories that show us how to protect and preserve the ecosystems that sustain life. This is a hybrid class, equal parts classic seminar and creative workshop. We'll study the work of climate storytellers and activists, examine the architecture of great stories in the audio form, and develop skills for interviewing, scriptwriting, storyboarding, voiceover narration, audio editing, and sound design. Students will work in small groups and emerge from the course having produced an audio documentary, memoir, or investigative story about climate change solutions, and the knowledge, tools, and experience to become more persuasive environmental storytellers and advocates. No prior experience with story craft or media required.