talking about the weather

[Stephanie Jo Kent]

Hi everyone.

I'm back from a "Summer Workshop" on Weather and Society, put on by the Societal Impacts Program of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. We're building a Google Site seeking to include relevant social science literature about public interactions with and understandings of meteorology, forecasting, storm watches & warnings, disaster preparation and response for tornados, hurricanes, forest fires, flooding, etc.  

I would like to be able to share EC resources with this research community. If you're aware of any work that seems relevant, would you please share with me?  I'll compile and post back to this list, and when the Weather and Society site goes public I'll post the link here, too.

Also, I'm specifically seeking a reference for the notion that Americans speaking about the weather is not 'just superficial small talk' - but a way of making identity common across what may otherwise be significant differences of class, ethnicity, religion etc.  I learned this in a graduate course but can't recall if we actually read something or if it was an example shared during lecture. 

Thanks for your help and happy Fall Semestering!
best,
steph

Stephanie Jo Kent

Fulbright Fellow (for doctoral research at the European Parliament)
Doctoral Candidate, Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst USA
Master of Education, Social Justice Education
Certified American Sign Language/English Interpreter 

twitter: @stephjoke
skype: adarkally
weblog: http://www.reflexivity.us
mobile: 1 (413) 824-9663

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