Six degrees of separation
The separation between science studies and science communication is intriguing. Science communication has grown into a global enterprise with dedicated university programs, funding streams, and professional associations that often touches on the same topic, but does so by drawing on a number of fields including communication studies, the natural sciences, science education, and science studies (Mulder, Longnecker, & Davis, 2008). In parallel, science studies scholars have spent generations developing sophisticated theoretical frameworks—from actor-network theory to co-production—to understand how scientific knowledge is constructed, contested, and embedded in social order. Yet science communication is probably better engaged with communication studies, science education or even the natural sciences than with science studies.
This disconnect has consequences. Science communication is increasingly recognised as central to so many aspects challenging our lives and our world, from global climate change policies to the introduction of AI in scientific practice, from the use of biotechnology for biosecurity management to individual choices over precision medicine to the use of forensic science in court rooms. Communication is never mere communication and nor is science communication. Yet the latter often operates with a thinner theoretical base than might be desirable, often relying on instrumental models that treat communication as a tool. STS, conversely, is theoretically rich but has struggled to find traction in science communication curricula or among practicing communicators as it can be impenetrable to the uninitiated. The result is a field (science communication) that is increasingly urgent but could and would benefit from the critical depth that STS has to offer in order to address, engage with and challenge its own complexities.
What makes this book series distinctive
The new book series "Science Studies meets Science Communication", published by Palgrave Macmillan, provides a pathway for more interaction between these fields, and especially to bring more opportunities for science communication to lean into and onto science studies. The series aims to forge a sustained dialogue between these fields about how we understand the public making of science as a deeply social, political, and cultural practice.
It takes a deliberate stance: science communication is not separate from science studies; it is a site where science and society are mutually shaped. As a starting point, the book series will consider issues around:
- the culturally embedded co-production of knowledge: science communication as a space where scientific knowledge and social order are jointly constructed
- power and politics: examining how authority, expertise, and trust are negotiated through communicative practices
- materiality and mediation: highlighting the role of technologies, infrastructures, and cultural imaginaries in shaping communication
- reflexivity: encouraging scholars to interrogate the values and assumptions embedded in science-society relations
The science communication field sits with one foot firmly standing in the world of practice and the series aims to produce work that is accessible to scholars, practitioners, and students alike, bridging the often-difficult divide between theory and practice.
Why this series, why now?
For academics invested in how science engages with society, this series signals a maturation of the field. Communication is critical to every aspect of understanding science and technology’s role and place in, and contributions and challenges to, society. Communication is also critical to understanding how science itself functions, its narratives and its processes.
In an era where science is both lauded and undermined, where the politicization of knowledge making and knowledge holding is increasingly pertinent, and where democratic deliberation around science is more critical and more complex than ever, creating a space for intentional interaction between these communities is urgently necessary.
We are currently inviting new proposals for the series, please visit the book series page and get in touch if you’d like to discuss!
Mulder, H. A. J., Longnecker, N., & Davis, L. S. (2008). The State of Science Communication Programs at Universities Around the World. Science Communication, 30(2), 277-287. doi:10.1177/1075547008324878