Science Communication

Science Communication

Sarah R. Davies Maja Horst Science Communication Culture, Identity and Citizenship

Sarah R. Davies Department of Media, Cognition and Communication University of Copenhagen København S, Denmark Maja Horst Department of Media, Cognition and Communication University of Copenhagen København S, Denmark ISBN 978-1-137-50364-0 ISBN 978-1-137-50366-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-50366-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016951223 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 Th e author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Th e use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use Th e publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: saemilee / Getty Printed on acid-free paper Th is Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature Th e registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London The registered company address is: The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, United Kingdom

Acknowle dgements It is hard to remember where the idea for this book first came from. We have worked together for some time, and our conversations have often been filled with aspects of science communication that we were excited about, questions that we did not know the answers to, and fascination with the way that the field of science communication is developing. Eventually, those conversations solidified into the idea of writing a book that explored some of the approaches to thinking about science communication we found particularly interesting. Together we worked through different topics, concepts, theoretical lenses, and methodological angles that we thought might open up the study of science communication. The result is what you find in this book. It is much easier to think of all the people who have helped us as we did this. Brian Trench, Kristian H Nielsen, Alan Irwin, Majken Schultz, and an anonymous reviewer gave us extremely valuable comments on the first draft of this manuscript. A group of science communication researchers were kind enough to join us at a workshop in Copenhagen, in part to talk about some of this work: we are grateful to Massimiano Bucchi, Anne Dijkstra, Jane Gregory, Karen Bultitude, Simon Lock, Miira Hill, Felicity Mellor, Jon Mendel, Hauke Riesch, Dorothea Born, Erik Stengler, Nina Amelung, Kasper Ostrowski, Megan Halpern, Britt Wray, Göde Both, Kjetil Sandvik, and Dehlia Hannah for their participation and their comments on our work. We have had many other informal conversations v

vi Acknowledgements about these topics with other scholars, professional communicators, and students, and would like to thank the originators of comments that particularly hit home: Ulrike Felt, Andy Stirling, Dorothea Born, Mike Michael, Cecilie Glerup, Birte Dalsgaard, Jasper Steen Winkel, Louise Whiteley, Adam Bencard, and Birger Lindberg Møller. At least some of the good advice we were given we did not take, in part because the text has been a rapidly shifting beast. The omissions, errors, and failings remain our own. We also thank the team at Palgrave for their help throughout the process, and particularly Holly Tyler and Dominic Walker. Some of our writing time was funded by a European Commission Marie Curie grant; without that support, this book would not have been possible. The University of Copenhagen funded a productive collaboration with a group of synthetic biologists, while a fellowship from the Brocher Foundation provided us with a month of seclusion and a beautiful working environment. Several of the chapters were drafted during our stay at their villa in Geneva. Finally, Maja thanks Alan Irwin for making her laugh and for demonstrating that it is possible to do research while holding a full-time management position, while Sarah thanks Raffael Himmelsbach for a steady supply of support and good food. We also want to thank each other. We are still talking, and still like working with each other. After some 80,000 words that seems achievement enough.

Contents 1 Introduction Science Communication as Culture 1 2 Histories Telling the Story of Where Contemporary Science Communication, This Book, and Our Own Work Come From 29 3 Identities How Scientists Represent Collectives, Construct Identities, and Make Sense of Science 53 4 The Changing Nature of Science Communication Diversification, Education, and Professionalisation 79 5 The Changing Nature of Science Academic Capitalism, Entrepreneurial Universities and PR 103 vii

viii Contents 6 Futures Innovation Communication as Performative, Normative, and Interest-Driven 133 7 Images, Spaces, and Emotions Non-discursive Aspects of Science Communication 159 8 Scientific Citizenship The Role of Science Communication in Democracy 187 9 Deficit and Dialogue Reframing Science Communication Research and Practice 213 Bibliography 233 Index 257