Science communicators are now dealing with often complex and sensitive problems, in public health, energy economics, climate politics and research funding, in the private and public sectors and at local and global scales. This present a great challenge to science communicators’ intellectual, social and practical skills. It requires a deep appreciation of the theories of effective communication and engagement, the thoughtful use of innovative and practical approaches, an understanding of the needs of the audience, and an awareness of the broader ethical and societal implications of the science. High quality training in science communication will provide these skills and expertise, and fits with the underlying principles of the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research.
Who is the course designed for?
This one year top-up course is only open to students who have already successfully completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Practical Science Communication.
Aims of the programme
- Provide professionally relevant teaching and learning in the theory, knowledge and skills that underpin, and are at the forefront of, science communication and engagement.
- Develop and create skilled science communicators with the necessary expertise and understanding to engage in and deliver well-informed high-quality science communication activities appropriate to the needs of their discipline and their audience.
- Promote a comprehensive understanding of the practical and ethical considerations relevant to science communication.
- Develop in students the judgement, confidence and responsibility that will enable them to be proactive, responsible and discriminating in their interventions at a high level in their profession.
Knowledge, Authority and Expertise
Thursday evenings - 15, 22 and 29 October 2020, 12, 19 and 26 November 2020, 10 December 2020 (Please note that these dates are provisional)
This unit draws on the literature from the sociology of science to explore a range of perspectives on science as a form of knowledge, as a group of methods and as a social institution. In particular, it asks how science commands respect as expertise, and explores what happens if this respect is withheld. Thus the unit explores, at a fundamental level, the relationships between science, politics and publics in terms of authority, trust, and public culture.
Course Director
Dr Jane Gregory developed science communication courses for Imperial College in the early 1990s, and since then has set up and taught UG and PG courses at Birkbeck, UCL (where she was appointed Reader in Science and Technology Studies) and, most recently, Manchester University. She has published on the role of public science communication in the development of scientific ideas, and on the global political and economic contexts for science communication. Jane has also worked as a book editor in science publishing, and for seven years developed exhibition texts and gallery guides for the Science Museum, London.
