Date Approved

2020

Degree Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department or School

Communication, Media and Theatre Arts

Committee Member

Nick Romerhausen, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Dennis O’Grady, Ph. D.

Committee Member

Raymond Quiel, Ph. D.

Abstract

As conditions for the global environment continue to degrade and the climate crisis deepens, wilderness and protected areas (PAs) serve as a bulwark for sustainability goals. As much of the protections and strengths of PAs stem from the public’s opinion of them, this research seeks to further understand the communicative underpinnings of PAs. Utilizing autoethnography and applying it to a rhetorical framework, this study explores the constitutive qualities narrative in conjunction with the wilderness can possess. The results offer suggestions for future communication scholars and advocates to employ while discussing and communicating about the wilderness.

Included in

Communication Commons

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