Scenography of the Dialogue between Scientists and Publics: Towards the Actor-Network Theory of Media-Science Communication 

Abstract

This article examines dialogue in media-science communication through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), while considering key conceptualizations from science communication research. The authors encompass four areas: (1) the structure of science communication research discourse, particularly the transition from the deficit model to the dialogue model; (2) the extension of the dialog- ical turn to media projects and mapping of the heterogeneous field of media-science communication projects; (3) key conceptualizations of dialogue media projects as places, processes, and events in science communication literature; and (4) the problems within this tradition and potential solutions offered by ANT.

Drawing on ANT, the authors regard the dialogue between scientists and the interested publics in Russia using the case of the “Appe- tite for Science” project. The empirical findings reveal that Appetite project is cross-local, i.e. it is located, on the one hand, at the intersection of offline and online spaces, and on the other hand, at the junction of three relevant social worlds: media, science, and institutions supporting the project. The apparent “naturalness” of the dialogue between scientists and publics, observed at Appetite events, is an interaction- al and discursive effect of painstaking material staging, described in terms of figuration, i.e. the process of transforming abstract categories (science, scientist) into more concrete entities (topic, speaker). Figuration includes the articulation of speaker topics, formatting, and de-finition of the speaker’s competencies. In conclusion, the authors address the specificity of media-science communication and identify topics for further research.

Note: Downloadable document is in Russian.

Keywords: science and technology studies (STS), actor-network theory, science communication, public engagement with science, public understanding of science