Making climate change public? A dramaturgically inspired case-study of learning through transition management

Abstract

This article reports on a case study of a 'transition arena' established by an urban government in order to realise a climate neutral city through transition management. We study this case as a non-formal learning setting in which educational and political processes are intertwined. We draw on Noortje Marres' conceptual distinction between 'privatisating' and 'public-ising' forms of issue formation and use a dramaturgical analytical framework that allows us to grasp how the design of a setting shapes and transforms not only the issue at stake but also the public involved in it. The development of a climate literate public, we argue, cannot be limited to learning predefined answers but should rather enable people to think critically in relation to taken-for-granted norms by opening-up democratic spaces where people can discuss and discover options through the exploration, evaluation, and critique of emerging ideas and the creative contribution to their development.