(University of Liverpool)
Science Communication as Propaganda
Sledovat můžete také na:
https://cesnet.zoom.us/j/91813080382
ABSTRAKT: There is a tension at the heart of science communication. On the one hand, its advocates often say that it simply aims to inform the public about relevant advances in science, along with providing them with scientific information that is relevant to their lives and choices (getting vaccinated, buying an electric vehicle, etc.). On the other hand, some public science communication seems more geared towards persuading the public of things (the need to get vaccinated or to buy an electric vehicle) than simply informing them. Moreover, science communication also occurs in the context of public policy making, where the role of the science communicator is not simply to inform policy makers of relevant scientific knowledge but to offer guidance and recommendations. Science communication is therefore intertwined with the technocratic structure of many modern societies. In this talk I suggest that viewing certain forms of science communication as a distinctive kind of propaganda is a helpful way of understanding the tension at the heart of science communication. One reason why it is helpful is it provides a plausible explanation of the prevalence of certain forms of science skepticism, on which they are centrally motivated by a rejection of the technocratic structure that science communication is an integral part of.
Finančně podpořeno z projektu Vědění ve věku nedůvěry, CZ.02.01.01/00/23_025/0008711.