Science Communication Seminar - Prof Emily Dawson

Description

We live in a time when divisive politics mark contemporary UK society, while the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine & the climate crisis threaten us all. How can we understand these issues in relation to one another? That science and society are mutually constitutive is a central tenet of science and technology studies? While popular culture is a key part of this landscape, with television still beating the internet as the medium through which most people in the UK access science related information, we know remarkably little about how structural inequalities and science are co-constructed through popular culture or how they mediate relationships between science & society.

In this seminar I will talk about how science and popular culture in the UK are hierarchically marked and will try to think about how we can understand popular science activities in both dominant and non-dominant forms of popular culture, from a social justice perspective. Whose knowledges and practices 'count' and how might we shift those narratives?

Biography

Emily is a Professor in the Department of Science & Technology Studies at University College London. Her research explores how people learn about and engage with science, with an emphasis on inclusion and social justice. In other words, why do some people do well in school science, watch science on TV and visit science museums while others do not? She focuses on how we can understand & transform patterns of advantage & disadvantage caused by structural inequalities, such as racism, sexism, class discrimination, homophobia, ableism and their intersections. In particular, she is interested in how to disrupt rather than reproduce science related injustices. View Professor Emily Dawson's work.