Science Communication as Communicative Figuration

What is it about?

Rather than the transmission between science and society, science communication entails the multilateral communication with, within and about science, to which participants from different societal domains may contribute. Depending on the societal conditions, scientific disciplines, and the research topics involved, science communication can take many different forms. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the empirical investigation of these manifestations. It conceptualizes science communication as a communicative figuration in which actors from the scientific world and other domains attempt to negotiate shared knowledge with reference to science. Based on this conceptual framework, three classical paradigms of science communication are reconstructed as ideal-typical figurations. The paper then explores the reconfiguration of science communication in a concrete domain, using the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. The conclusion focuses on the potential of the chosen conceptual framework for science communication research and for current discussions on the evaluation of science communication.

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Why is it important?

Science communication is often regarded as the transmission of scientific findings into the public. Due to the complex relationships between the actors who contribute to the negotiation of shared knowledge, this linear understanding is not really fruitful for guiding empirical research and for developing communication strategies in this area. The proposed conceptualization of science communication as communicative figuration shall help to understand the ongoing refiguration of science communication in general as well as the specific figurations of certain disciplines and research fields.

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