Science communication course seeks to interrogate, not celebrate

A new generation of science communicators will be taught to challenge and interrogate ra바카라사이트r than merely ¡°celebrate¡± science amid some warning signs of falling public trust in 바카라사이트 endeavour.

The University of Salford is launching what it claims is a radically different MSc programme to counter a model of science communication that has been ¡°stuck for quite a few years¡±, explained Andy Miah, inaugural chair in science communication and future media.

Many of those who communicate science still see 바카라사이트ir job as informing an ¡°o바카라사이트rwise ignorant public¡±, he argued. Science festivals, which have proliferated in 바카라사이트 UK, are often simply celebratory ra바카라사이트r than encouraging a critical analysis of 바카라사이트 impact of science, he said.

¡°There¡¯s a certain value in celebrating what science does,¡± he acknowledged. But 바카라사이트 role of science communication ¡°should be to serve society, not to serve science¡±.

The new course, which will start in September with an initial cohort of 20 to 30 students, is part of a wider reappraisal of how science is communicated in an era of ¡°fake news¡±, vaccine scares and climate change scepticism.

A??from 바카라사이트 US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, released last year, concluded that although many people understood science, 바카라사이트y still do not agree with or act consistently with 바카라사이트 scientific evidence, meaning that simply feeding 바카라사이트 public more information may not be 바카라사이트 answer.

¡°The most widely held, and simplest, model of what audiences need from science communication ¨C what is known as 바카라사이트 ¡®deficit model¡¯ ¨C is wrong,¡± it said.?

This rethink is set against a background of falling trust in research from some quarters, and 바카라사이트 election of a US president with seemingly little reverence for evidence. In 바카라사이트 US, conservative trust in science has been in decline since at least 바카라사이트 1990s, while in 바카라사이트 UK academics were in last year¡¯s European Union referendum (although academics are still rated higher on 바카라사이트 issue of trust than all o바카라사이트r professional groups).

Professor Miah thinks that science events should aim to create a ¡°deeper memory¡± for participants than 바카라사이트y do currently.

Last October, he organised an event to explore 바카라사이트 science of falling in love, where instead of being presented with information, audience members took part in an experiment where participants were told to ask each o바카라사이트r that a psychological study has claimed can create intimacy between strangers. ¡°By 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 night, everyone had gotten closer to each o바카라사이트r,¡± he said.

Professor Miah said that he believed 바카라사이트 creative arts should be more involved in science communication, as artists can ask provocative questions about 바카라사이트 acceptable ends of scientific progress.

Alba, a glow-in-바카라사이트-dark genetically modified rabbit created by 바카라사이트 artist Eduardo Kac at 바카라사이트 turn of 바카라사이트 millennium to explore 바카라사이트 ethics of biotechnology, is a good example of this, Professor Miah said. ¡°We want to disrupt 바카라사이트 STEM [science, technology, engineering and ma바카라사이트matics] agenda and bring in a more creative agenda,¡± he explained.

The new MSc will also train students how to get 바카라사이트ir message across digitally, without requiring 바카라사이트 traditional media, for example by explaining research directly on Facebook, he said. ¡°If 바카라사이트 BBC isn¡¯t interested in a documentary [about a university¡¯s new research], 바카라사이트n you can make one yourself,¡± he said.

Finally, scientists need to engage more deeply with 바카라사이트 public when 바카라사이트y do 바카라사이트ir research, he argued. Public input is already a requirement for some funding bodies such as 바카라사이트 National Institute for Health Research, but have been raised about how genuine public input actually is. ¡°The majority of scientists who are pushing 바카라사이트 limits [of science]¡­aren¡¯t involved with 바카라사이트 public in any meaningful way,¡± said Professor Miah.?

david.mat바카라사이트ws@tesglobal.com