Communicating Science: Professional, Popular, Literary

by Nicholas Russell

Overview

Governments and scientific establishments have been encouraging the development of professional and popular science communication. This book critically examines the origin of this drive to improve communication, and discusses why simply improving scientists' communication skills and understanding of their audiences may not be enough. Written in an engaging style, and avoiding specialist jargon, this book provides an insight into science's place in society by looking at science communication in three contexts: the professional patterns of communication among scientists, popular communication to the public, and science in literature and drama. This three-part framework shows how historical and cultural factors operate in today's complex communication landscape, and should be actively considered when designing and evaluating science communication. Ideal for students and practitioners in science, engineering and medicine, this book provides a better understanding of the culture, sociology and mechanics of professional and popular communication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780511847554
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/15/2009
Series:	Cambridge Law, Medicine and Ethics, 9 Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	421 KB

About the Author

Nicholas Russell is Emeritus Reader in Science Communication in the Department of Humanities at Imperial College, London.

Table of Contents

Introduction: what this book is about and why you might want to read it; Prologue: three orphans share a common paternity: professional science communication, popular journalism, and literary fiction are not as separate as they seem; Part I. Professional Science Communication: 1. Spreading the word: the endless struggle to publish professional science; 2. Walk like an Egyptian: the alien feeling of professional science writing; 3. The future's bright? Professional science communication in the age of the internet; 4. Counting the horse's teeth: professional standards in science's barter economy; 5. Separating the wheat from the chaff: peer review on trial; Part II. Science for the Public: What Science Do People Need and How Might They Get It?: 6. The Public Understanding of Science (PUS) movement and its problems; 7. Public engagement with science and technology (PEST): fine principle, difficult practice; 8. Citizen scientists? Democratic input into science policy; 9. Teaching and learning science in schools: implications for popular science communication; Part III. Popular Science Communication: The Press and Broadcasting: 10. What every scientist should know about mass media; 11. What every scientist should know about journalists; 12. The influence of new media; 13. How the media represents science; 14. How should science journalists behave?; Part IV. The Origins of Science in Cultural Context: Five Historic Dramas: 15. A terrible storm in Wittenberg: natural knowledge through sorcery and evil; 16. A terrible storm in the Mediterranean: controlling nature with white magic and religion; 17. Thieving magpies: the subtle art of false projecting; 18. Foolish virtuosi: natural philosophy emerges as a distinct discipline but many cannot take it seriously; 19. Is scientific knowledge 'true' or should it just be 'truthfully' deployed?; Part V. Science in Literature: 20. Science and the Gothic: the three big nineteenth-century monster stories; 21. Science fiction: serious literature of ideas or low-grade entertainment?; 22. Science in British literary fiction; 23. Science on stage: the politics and ethics of science in cultural and educational contexts.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Paul J Casella, MFA, AB (University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine)
Description: Despite what the title may suggest, this is not a book about how to write or communicate science effectively. Rather, it is a vast overview of how, in fact, science has been and is being communicated and it asks some hard questions about this communication, whether among scientists, translating science for a popular audience, or presenting science in fictional media. The book is filled with wonderful factual anecdotes and real-world examples that ultimately serve to raise more questions than they answer, and this mixes well with an underlying sense that the author is deeply concerned with ethical considerations.
Purpose: The author is careful to state explicitly that the book is not intended as a manual to help scientists communicate their findings, conclusions, and theoretical analyses. The material in the book was originally intended for postgraduate science communication students entering fields such as journalism, broadcasting, and public relations, and as such it provides a comprehensive historical background and thus a context within which to view different types of science communication. The book succeeds by providing enough factual information to support serious consideration of the author's opinions.
Audience: A wide audience would find this book interesting, from students entering the science communication field and practitioners young and old concerned with how their science is being communicated, to anyone fascinated with the history of communication generally. The author displays a vast reservoir of knowledge and thought that includes not only factual anecdotes but also a long-standing concern for policy and ethical considerations.
Features: The book covers broad range of subjects, from the current state of technical or factual scientific communication and the role of journalism in communication science to the roles that fiction and drama have in communicating science. One effective feature of the book is the use at the beginning of each chapter of real-world examples, whether brief stories, overheard conversations, or descriptions of situations, that serve as useful starting points for the ensuing discussion.
Assessment: This book is most valuable for its broad but organized perspective on science communication and for its wealth of relevant historical and policy information. Rather than easy answers, readers will likely come away with hard questions about how best to proceed in their careers, education, and their lives as people in the service of communicating science. The depth of the author's experience makes for a treatise that is unparalleled in its perspectives on the field of science communication.

Doody's Review Service

"... a fascinating exploration of past and current trends, with some insight into what the future may hold."
Rachel Zelkowitz, Science News

"This book is most valuable for its broad but organized perspective on science communication and for its wealth of relevant historical and policy information. Rather than easy answers, readers will likely come away with hard questions about how best to proceed in their careers, education, and their lives as people in the service of communicating science. The depth of the author's experience makes for a treatise that is unparalleled in its perspectives on the field of science communication."
Doody's Review Service

"The book provides a great overview of the development of scientific literature and all of its implications, making it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the publication of scientific results."
Jens Lichtenberg, reviews.com

"Based on the author's considerable research and reflection, this book is both interesting and illuminating. Anyone with even a peripheral interest in science will gain a deeper appreciation of science as a complex dimension of human civilization by reading this work. Highly recommended."
V.V. Raman, Choice Magazine

From the Publisher