Abstract
In the social field, there is a strong bidirectional relation between what individuals think, say, and do. Precisely for this reason, considering the growing importance of environmental issues in higher education, this study addresses them from the perspective of social representations and sociolinguistics. Its specific objective was to characterize the social representations that a group of university students in Bogotá city has about the environment. This was done from a qualitative perspective, using the theoretical and methodological framework of social representations and sociolinguistics. For the analysis of the representations of the environment, we used the characterization proposed by professor and expert in the field Marcos Reigota. The inquiry concluded that, in the discourses of these students, an anthropocentric and systemic social representation of the environment prevails. The first is evident when it is observed that, in most of the discourses analyzed, nature usually matters only as a means for human welfare. The second is clear when it is observed that, in most of these discourses, environmental issues appear closely tied to the environmental, socio-cultural, and political-economic dynamics. The article concludes by proposing that the category Systemic Representation of the Environment can be subdivided into two sub-categories, Simple and Complex, depending on the depth reached in the analysis of environmental issues for each one. This research also indicates that it is essential to consider the content of these representations in the design of environmental education programs.
Social representations; Sociolinguistics; Environmental education