Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer
Short profile
Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer has been teaching journalism with a focus on text production at the
Hochschule Darmstadt since 2013.
After completing an EU master's degree in Aachen, Schäfer worked in the online editorial department of Deutsche Welle and for Geo. At RWTH Aachen University, he wrote his politics PhD on the EU coverage of
regional newspapers. In 2008, he founded the blog euroreporter.de initially on environmental journalism, now focusing on personal observations of nature and photo series. In 2009, Schäfer went to Hamburg as editor for the international Geo edition. In addition, he bloggedand, according to his own suggestion, helped establish the certificate "Journalism and Sustainability" at Leuphana University Lüneburg.
In 2013, together with Peter Seeger at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Torsten Schäfer set up the Internet portal Green Journalism, which he manages editorially.
about the person
2023
ESD and sustainability communication:
(Further) development of continuing education programmes
Talking landscapes
Existence, evaluation and experiments on non-human speakers in journalistic articles in the context of the debate on the kinship of all living beings.
2020 - 2021
Family-Nature - new formats for young environmental communication: multi-perspective interview study on the status quo and new potentials of nature communication to the target group families.
Funding source: Foundation Forum for Responsibility TH Nuremberg, Leuphana University LüneburgNetwork Research.
2017 - 2020
Research project "Sustelling" on storytelling in sustainability communication; collaborative partner: University of Lüneburg, funding body: Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt.
2015 - 2018
Research project New storytelling: "Climate stories" on storytelling and climate journalism with
several subprojects. Teaching research; with funding from the project Grüner-Journalismus.de.
Partners: including Friedrich Ebert Foundation and AJC Media Academy in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Since 2017
Research project: indigenous journalism and climate change: Sami stories: media ethnographic
explorations of environmental journalistic practices of indigenous media actors in northern Scandinavia. Funded by: Stiftung Forum für VerantwortungTH Nuremberg, Leuphana University Lüneburg Netzwerk Recherche.
Since 2014
Green journalism: environmental journalism, climate reporting, dossiers, interviews, research tips,
junior projects as focus.
Funding source: Stiftung Forum für VerantwortungTH Nuremberg, Leuphana University of LüneburgNetzwerk Recherche.
Lectures and moderations
2023
Reading and lecture on sources as a poetic figure as part of the 6th Day of Poetry (contribution to the
International Poetry Day) of the Darmstadt Atelierhaus Vahle, 25 June 2023, Wald near Darmstadt.
"Für eine Sprache der Verbundenheit" - 14 June 2023, lecture, workshop and readings from the book "Wasserpfade" for students in the forest botanical garden of the HNE Eberswalde on behalf of ANW Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturgemäße Waldwirtschaft)
"Retelling the climate - opportunities and limits of narratives in journalistic debates. Guest lecture (online) as part of the interdisciplinary lecture series at the University of Freiburg, 16 May 2023, Institute for Media-Cultural Studies.
Small rivers, great value - why we need to value them differently in the face of climate emergency and species extinction. Lecture on 24.4.2023 along the multimedia reportage "Vergessene Schönheit", Kreissaal der Landkreises Darmstadt-Dieburg in Darmstadt/Kranichstein.
The transformation of journalism(s) - talk at Oslo Met University, cours "climate journalism", 8.3.2023
2022
Climate, homeland and rivers - reading of the book "Wasserpfade", Nieder-Ramstadt Volunteer Fire Department, 08.07.2022.
Double reading: Torsten Schäfer/"Wasserpfade" with Jens Steingässer/"Querflussein", Centralstation, Darmstadt, 16.10.2022.
Natural language, blooming words - a writing workshop in the Tegeler Fließ for young Berlin
authors. Direction and conception for the Senate for the Environment of the City of Berlin, 11.10.2022.
Workshop with best practice examples: Climate journalism after the
Greta effect - state and future. Conference lecture and wiss. Chair of the seminar "Climate Change and Climate Communication - Current Challenges and Professional Foundations" of the Foundation
Forum for Responsibility at the European Academy Otzenhausen (Saarland), 7/8.10.2022.
"Mindfulness is too apolitical so far"- How can we deal with the climate crisis? Interview, PORTAL FOR MINDFULNESS IN EDUCATION, 7/12/2022.
"Faszination Modau - was Familien am Fluss zusammentun können", lecture with pictures to the
Förderverein der Grundschule am Pfaffenberg in Nieder-Ramstadt, 06.07.2022.
Transformativer Journalismus? Development paths for climate reporting. On-site lecture for students of BA Journalism and Public Relation at FH Joanneum Graz in
Austria, 13.5.2022.
Current approaches of climate journalistic reception research. Presentation for students of the
course "Reception and Impact Research" in BA Journalism at the University of Eichstätt, online, 11.5.2022.
Mindfulness and sustainability - two natural partners? Reflections on interrelationships of effects. Keynote lecture at the Day of Mindfulness at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Media Campus Dieburg, 30.4.2022.
"Communicating climate protection confidently and empathically" - presentation to companies for the
Foundation Alliance for Development and Climate, online, 29.3.2022.
2021
Volkshaus in Crumstadt, reading "Water Paths," 11/13/2021.
Salon des guten Lebens (online) - Torsten Schäfer with "Green Journalism" (Heinrich Böll Foundation Schleswig-Holstein), 8.11.2021.
Climate Communication ethics, talk as guest lecturer within the class "Media Education" at the
University of Lapland in Rovaniemi (Finland) October 5th 2021.
Holistic media ethics in times of solutionism and digital capitalism - fragments for a critical terrestrial thinking. Talk at the Conference for Media Education at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi
(Finland) September 29th 2021.
(online) Indigeniality and relocalization of climate debates - layers for ecological communication ethics. Talk at the Conference for "Indigenous Journalism and Self-Determination" at Sámi University College in Kautokeino, Norways, September 28th 2021.
(online) "The Climate Discourse - A Sociopolitical and Media Ethical Analysis." Paper presented for the annual conference on "Cultures of Controversy" of the DGPuK specialist group on media ethics. 18.2.2021.
2019
Language and its impact in a climate context. Communication workshop "Zielgruppenspezifische
Ansprache" of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt in the context of the project "Modernisierungsbündnisse" for the establishment of local climate protection networks in 23 German local authorities, 2019.
Climate journalism - how to report the new key context in the Czech Republic. Friedrich Ebert Foundation at Charles University in Prague, 2019.
Environmental communication - ways to an understandable language in the communication space of rural communities. Municipality of Breuberg in the Odenwald, 2019.
Climate journalism in an ethical and global context - recent history and next steps, public
roundtable, 2019.
Indigenous journalism and climate change - ways to report new stories about a key
question, public roundtable at Sami University in Kautokeino, 2019.
"Wortschmiede" on climate change and language at the taz canteen, panel discussion, 2019.
Climate journalism - tips and ideas for Egyptian journalists, interview for the German Embassy at Cairo Climate Talks, 2019.
Climate stories - stories as a cultural tool for sustainability communication, 2019.
2018
Climate journalism: how to set up a resource and teach with it. Green Journalism web resource
(Skype talk). Conference on Climate Journalism, New Delhi, 16 Nov 2018; OsloMet/Norway; Datamation Foundation/Delhi; research network MediaClimate.
Conducting workshops with lectures and exercises on nature writing; British Council Munich, 6/7/6/2018.
Panel discussion and workshop on practical issues of teaching nature at the
conference "Philosophy of nature after the end of nature?". Institute of Philosophy at the Cusanus for Philosophy and Economics in Bernkastel-Kues, 4 and 5.5. 2018.
Communicating sustainability in a new way. Lecture and workshop for the rangers of the Unesco Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald with readings from the nature column "Stories of Being and Stone".
Messel Pit World Heritage Site, 23.3.2018.
2017
Thoughts on the big picture - sustainability as a universal value and normative guiding principle for communicative and social action. Lecture at the Sustainability Day of the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt, 14.11.2017.
Lüdenscheid Conference "Good Cultural Climate is Sustainable", South Westphalia Region.
"Klimageschichten" - Stories as a cultural tool for communicating sustainability, 2017.
Wind power in public - hotly contested, why at all? A regional analysis from
environmental journalistic perspective. Lecture as part of the energy series by Entega,
Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and Centralstation Darmstadt (venue), 2017.
Participant in a panel discussion on sustainability and the public sphere at the CSR Congress in Osnabrück, 2017.
Representation of Grüner-Journalismus as well as the network Weitblick with own booth at the
science communication fair "Wissenswerte" in Darmstadt, 2017.
Climate narratives and journalistic storytelling - findings and concepts. Oslo and Akershus University
College, Oslo. Lecture at the Institute of Journalism as part of the Climate Journalism Week with
international students, 2017.
Nature writing - a practical answer to ecosophy and deep ecology? Oslo and Akershus University
College, Oslo. Lecture at the Institute of Journalism as part of Climate Journalism Week with
international students, 2017.
Expert in the panel-debate "Nature and Arts" in the frame of the Global Nomadic Art Project "Urban
Nature Art", Schader Foundation, Darmstadt, 2017.
"Stories of Being and Stone": literary reflections on landscape from the Odenwald with
calls for R(E)volution - reading and debate at the Nonstock Festival in Fischbachtal, 2017.
Global overfishing in the mirror of the public: lecture with reading at the
cultural studies conference "Der Fisch im Netz" at the University of Siegen, 2017.
Climate Communication, with Lars Rademacher. Lecture series of the Initiative for Sustainable Development (INE) at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, h_da, 2017.
Kunststück Klimakommunikation, lecture series "Energy for the Future", Centralstration /
Darmstadt, 2017.
Events
Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer organized a research conference "Narratives of Sustainability" in
cooperation with the Kolleg für Management und Gestaltung nachhaltiger Entwicklung GmbH (KMGNE Potsdam), the Schader Foundation and the University Lüneburg. The conference took place in Darmstadt in the time of 30-31.01.2018.
- Topic: How can the socio-ecological transformation be appropriately narrated in the context of
digitalization? Ideas and insights from research, practice and ethics
Public relations
Reporting and thematic contributions:
2018
Interview: Worth knowing: crash course climate (3) - 5 to 12 again? Climate change and psychology, 11/18/2018.
Narrative forms for science magazines. Workshop for magazine editors of
Oekom-Verlag. 26.4.2018, Munich.
Media in the heat summer of 2018: dying fish, living journalism. Klimafakten.de, Aug. 24, 2018 - article with quotes.
Interview: Dirty air kills - no one cares. ZDF.de, 02.05.2018.
On thin ice. Reportage in "FAZ Woche" and at FAZ.net about Sami reindeer husbandry and climate change, 13.11.2017 - Own reportage as part of a participant observation.
The egg-laying vegetable fish. Multimedia report on sustainable aquaculture, with Johanna Hilbig, Marina Speer and Benjamin Reibert. FAZ.net, 22.08.2018. A multimedia special on the topic of
sustainability.
Prizes and awards
As part of the Research Day, Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer received the Science Award in the
category "Outreach".
2021
Schäfer, Torsten: Wasserpfade:. Rambles along native shores. Oekom 2021.
Schäfer, Torsten: Holistic media ethics in times of solutionism and digital capitalism - fragments for a critical terrestrial thinking. Talk at the Conference for Media Education at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi (Finland) September 29th 2021.
2018
Fischer, D.; Schäfer, T.: Borner, J.: Narratives of Sustainability: How to Tell the Story of the
Socio-Ecological Transformation. In GAIA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 27 (3), pp. 334-336, forthcoming in 2018.
Seeger, P.; Schäfer, T.: Natural opportunities. Special on nature writing and journalism. In: Medium Magazine 11/2018, pp. 58-63, published in 2018.
Seeger, P.; Schäfer, T.: Stories as opportunities. Narrative forms in environmental journalism. In: Political Ecology 152/2018, "Green Tones. The media and the Great Transformation," pp. 83-90,
published in 2018.
Seeger, P.; Schäfer, T.: Slow Media - A contribution to media sustainability. In: Political Ecology 152/2018, "Green Tones. The Media and the Great Transformation," pp. 106-112, published in 2018.
Schäfer, T.: Dichter Schwarm. On the pluralization, differentiation and cooperation of environmental NGOs. A journalistic-practical analysis using the EU fisheries reform as a case study.
In: Rademacher, L.;
Remus, N. (Eds.): Handbook of NGO Communication, 2018.
2017
Schäfer, T.: Climate stories - thinking the future. A journalistic accompanying project. In: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (ed.): Climate Policy for the Next Generation. Results of a young ideas workshop as
youth participation project for COP23, pp. 34-35, published in 2017.
Schäfer, T.: Grüner Journalismus - Zum Spannungsfeld zwischen Neutralität und Transformation.
Proceedings of the conference "Great Transformation and the Media - Alternatives to Growth as a Guiding Principle of Communication", published in 2017.
Schäfer, T.: The role of environmental publications. The green sides of transformation. Political
Ecology 150/2017, pp. 63-68.
Schäfer, T.: Storytelling and climate change: opportunities and limits of the representation strategy in the context of highly complex topics such as climate change. Contribution to a special issue of the
series UmweltWirtschaftsForum, VS Springer, 2017 (eds. Alexander Mouchnik / Lars Rademacher).