In partnership with the Association Française de Sociologie (RT 37: Sociologie des Médias) we are delighted to welcome Melissa Aronczyk, Associate Professor of Media Studies at Rutgers University.

Professor Aronczyk will present her latest co-authored book with Maria I. Espinoza entitled A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism (OUP, 2021). 

In A Strategic Nature, Melissa Aronczyk and Maria I. Espinoza examine public relations as a social and political force that shapes both our understanding of the environmental crises we now face and our responses to them. Drawing on in-depth interviews, ethnography, and archival research, Aronczyk and Espinoza document the evolution of PR techniques to control public perception of the environment since the beginning of the twentieth century. More than spin or misinformation, PR affects how institutions and individuals conceptualise environmental problems — from conservation to coal mining to carbon credits. Revealing the linkages of professional strategists, information politics, and environmental standards, A Strategic Nature shows how public relations restricts alternative paths to a sustainable climate future.

Please note that the book presentation will be delivered in English and followed by a discussion with the audience (in English and French).

You can purchase the book on the Oxford University Press website.