Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - CMNS 311 D300

Topics in Communication and Social Justice (4)

Communication to Mitigate Disaster

Class Number: 6834

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 7, 2026: Thu, 11:30 a.m.–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    17 CMNS units with a minimum grade of C- or 45 units with a minimum CGPA of 2.00.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Topics pertain to issues of inequality, resistance and activism with a focus on entanglements with media and communication. Explores how relations of power are shaped and contested through media and communication. Topics include: racial justice, environmental policies, globalization, social activism, and labour. This course can be repeated twice for credit if the topics are different (up to a maximum of three times).

COURSE DETAILS:

CMNS 311: COMMUNICATION TO MITIGATE DISASTER

Discourses of risk, danger, and disaster are all around us. But how are these risks defined? What are the frameworks used to decide what is ‘unsafe’ versus what is an ‘acceptable’ level of harm or concern? What role do values and culture play in shaping individual and collective understandings and responses to risk? How best to communicate about risk, threat, and disaster?

This course is an introduction to the essential role communication and plays in efforts to mitigate effects of major emergencies, economic threat, and natural or climate change-influenced disasters such as wildfires, droughts and floods. Topics include financial and economic risk; war and the threat of war; mediation of the climate crisis and energy in popular culture and film; personal preparedness and risk perception; principles of emergency communication and the application and influence of new information and communication technologies (including social media platforms) in hazard information gathering, interpretation, exchange and management. The course will also explore how ideas and expectations of security – and insecurity – shape public conversations and state priorities related to disaster and threats. Contemporary contexts and Canadian examples will be highlighted.

Content warning: this course will include discussions of major disasters, both locally and globally, which have caused the loss of life. If you need support during the course, please speak to your course instructor or TA for resources.

Grading

  • In-person midterm exam 25%
  • In-person final exam 25%
  • Group case study project + presentation-proposal 5%
  • Group case study project + presentation-Presentation 30%
  • Lecture attendance + in-class assignments 15%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Taylor, A. (2023). The age of insecurity: Coming together as things fall apart. House of Anansi.

All other course readings will be available on Canvas. You will need access to a Netflix Canada account to access some course viewing material. All assignments and tests to be submitted, and taken, online.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.