It could be argued that we are witnessing, for a host of intersecting reasons, a profound and consequential change of one of modern society’s central institutions: science.
Institutional change is rarely rapid; its gradual transformation often escapes attention, and the extent and dimensions of change only appear after some time.
In political rhetoric, ‘opening science to society’ is now seen as a ‘moral’ and ‘civic obligation’, which is supposed to add pressure on scientists and their institutions to engage with the public.
This project explores the theoretical and conceptual dimensions of change in relation to science communication: function, agents, content, approach, purposes, and impacts.
Principal Investigator: Dr Francois van Schalkwyk (CREST)