Assembling Disciplines, Reassembling Concepts: A University Workshop on ‘Ecological Crisis and Environmental Risk’

Cultural aspects and education are essential in shaping adaptived fostering a local climate
culture, encouraging responsible local planning and daily practices to effectively mitigate
the effects of ongoing climate changes and reduce vulnerability. This is evident in UNESCO
plans, the Next Generation EU programme, and Italy’s national NRRP. This study aims to
understand the level of awareness regarding socio-environmental risks related to climate
change (scale, frequency, and exposure to associated phenomena) and the perception of the
spread of fake news among a specific group of university students. In order to analyse these
aspects, a qualitative questionnaire was administered to the participants of a 20-hour multi-
disciplinary workshop, part of the bachelor’s degree course in Linguistic and Cultural Me-
diation at the University of Naples “L’Orientale.” The workshop, titled “Ecological Crisis,
Sustainability, and Environmental Risk Perception: Discourse Analysis, Literary Imagina-
tion, and Ethical Impasse,” took place from March to May 2024 and was part of the activities
of the Interuniversity Center Dis4Change Studies on Climate Change and Environmental
Discourse.