Annotated Table of Contents Getting to the Heart of Science Communication A Guide to Effective Engagement By Faith Kearns
Introduction The introduction provides an overview of the authors’ background and inspiration for writing the book.
Part I: The Evolution of Science Communication Chapter 1: Science Communication from the Ground Up The science communication landscape in the U.S. has changed vastly in the last two decades. Normative science communication practices focused on delivering a rehearsed message from an elite scientist to an elite audience are not adequate, and can even be harmful, in situations where emotions, conflict, and power must be navigated. Science communication practitioners are dealing with a wide variety of issues that have not been part of the normative discussion in the field and that should lead to an adjustment in advice given to science communicators. In addition, they are increasingly in nontenure track positions and are not protected in working on these contentious issues that they often feel strongly about or have moral or ethical obligations to address. These changes invite new approaches to science communication practice, including emphasizing protecting practitioners instead of incentivizing the unwilling. The chapter includes two full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection. 1
Chapter 2: Science Communication Careers Today The scientific job market has changed, particularly in the wake of the great recession in 2008, and within the context of a highly uncertain economic situation today. Shifts in the scientific job market, along with societal challenges, are leading many more scientifically trained people to become science communication practitioners. The assumption that science communication will be carried out by tenured faculty does not hold, and any advice on communicating must recognize the precarity, and creativity, of new positions. This leads to different concerns for all levels of science communication training and careers. While the normative focus has been on training graduate students, early and mid-career science communicators need different kinds of support. This shift in who makes up the field has big implications for the kind of work that can be done. The chapter includes four full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Chapter 3: Navigating Facts and Feelings in Science Communication Emotions are present in science communication – and indeed all science – work, whether we like it or not. Ignoring them is to our peril. Emotions show up in all aspects of science communication. They aren’t just ours, or just other people’s, and the “collective stew” of emotions is crucial to understand. It is critical to question whose emotions are being centered in any discussion about them. In addition, conflict is a key issue in the emotional landscape of science communication. Taking emotion and conflict seriously in science communication means taking relating with others about them seriously. The chapter includes seven full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Part II: The Tools Chapter 4: Relating Relationship-centered communication offers a strong set of theories and practices from other fields that can inform science communication practice. It is important to understand the difference between relational work grounded in theory and more colloquial understandings of relationships, which can serve to recreate and reinforce power structures. In many ways, a relational focus has been present in science communication for a long time, but it has been overlooked in the normative discourse of the 21st century. Science communicators can learn from and partner with doctors, 2
lawyers, therapists, as well as Indigenous and other cultural and scholarly practices, about relationship-centered communication approaches; there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Working relationally is a lifelong practice that invites consistent reflexivity to ensure the work is being done ethically and with accountability. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Chapter 5: Listening Listening has been an overlooked focus in science communication work, particularly when it comes to accountability. There are many ways to approach listening, and different techniques that range from active to deep listening make sense in different contexts. Many science communicators are already experimenting with listening approaches and have many lessons to offer. An underappreciated question about listening in science communication is what practitioners do with what they hear. The ethics and accountability of listening processes need better scaffolding in science communication to help ensure they are not extractive or harmful. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Chapter 6: Working with Conflict Conflict has an ongoing presence in science communication, and while it is recognized, truly engaging with it in a non-defensive way is rare. Conflicts can be interpersonal and there are skills that can be used to navigate those including self-reflection and empathy. Conflicts also have systemic causes, and it is valuable to be able to distinguish between interpersonal and systemic issues in addressing conflict. Differences in power are key in conflict. Sometimes what might appear as a communication issue is instead a power issue. Engaging in conflict invites deep discernment about your role as an individual, where you have power, and where you should and shouldn’t intervene. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Chapter 7: Understanding Trauma Trauma is an increasingly pertinent issue for science communicators working in embodied situations, including but not exclusive to disasters like wildfire and hurricanes. There is a rich literature and practice on trauma-informed work in many fields that is applicable in science communication. Trauma is not experienced in the 3
same way for everyone; practitioners must take care to not impose narratives of trauma on anyone. In a cultural context, it is important to interrogate narratives of trauma and who benefits from them. Practitioners are invited to understand their own trauma and how it affects and is affected by others. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Part III: The Future of Science Communication Chapter 8: Equitable, Inclusive, and Just Science Communication For much of the last few decades, and until very recently, science communication advice has not taken the identity or position of practitioners into account. This oversight has led to misguided training efforts, and to the exclusion of many practitioners and communities. There are many practitioners whose work models the many ways that science communication can become more equitable and inclusive, as well as questions whether that is the appropriate framing at all. The stories in this chapter encompass a broad array of approaches that practitioners are putting into action in what is a critical and quickly evolving component of science communication practice. Both individual and institutional efforts are needed to support inclusivity and equity in science communication. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection.
Chapter 9: Self and Collective Care Science communication practitioner careers can be challenging due to factors like working within a highly charged media environment on often emotional and contentious issues with high stakes. Self-care – taking care of one’s physical and emotional self – is vital as science communicators are engaged in what are often deeply systemic issues that are unlikely to be “solved” during their careers. Common self-care practice include embodied or movement-based practices, connecting with others, time for contemplation and reflection, establishing boundaries, pursuing hobbies and otherthan-work interests, and space for joy and celebration. Seek support for mental health issues from licensed professionals. It is important that self-care activities not become another chore, another way of feeling like we’re not perfect enough or doing enough, but instead are truly regenerative. The chapter includes five full narratives and several shorter anecdotes based on practitioner interviews, as well as questions for self or group exploration and reflection. 4
Chapter 10: What More is Possible? The concluding chapter provides a brief wrap-up of the book, with a focus on the future and what might happen if we reimagine science communication as locally grounded and relational. It suggests changes to training and practice, suggests that protecting and rewarding vs incentivizing science communicators as a focus, argues for ethics grounded in justice, inclusive, equitable, and just, and relationally focused. Most importantly, it invites readers to imagine what else might be possible in science communication, a crucial question for the field.
Suggested complementary or cited reading •
The Cultural Politics of Emotion, Sara Ahmed
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Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors, Carolyn Finney
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The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies, Sandra Harding (ed)
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Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, bell hooks
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Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making and Communicating Research, Kat Jungnickel (ed)
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Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Environmental Melancholia: Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Engagement, Renee Lertzman
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A Third University Is Possible, La Paperson
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Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair, Sarah Schulman
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The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity, Lewis Raven Wallace
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