ABSTRACT
Students prepared to speak as environmental advocates are often ideally positioned to enter local publics, those spaces where people may face a shared problem—but do so from differing perspectives, concerns, assumptions or values. It is these two sorts of rhetorical work, negotiating self-knowledge and advocating social change that can help environmental pedagogy realize its potential as a transformative force. This chapter describes the framework for inviting environmental communication (EC) students into the role of knowledge makers and public performers through a transformative stance built on transferable skills and a deepened knowledge of both rhetoric and environmentalism. Making the transition from knowledge-negotiators to transformative public advocates combines rhetorical communications skills with socially responsible change. Engaging students in the free exchange of ideas within a specified community, the salon offers a risk-free method to not only hone analytical and communicative skills but also to vet and negotiate opinions about specific environmental cases.
