230154 SE Investigating scientific knowledge in public arenas (2012W)

Scientific knowledge is commonly used in diverse arenas (e.g. media, policy, economy) to support arguments, legitimize decisions and identify problems and their solutions, thereby enabling this kind of knowledge to affect different areas of human coexistence. However, what is considered to be 'scientific' is not pre-given but negotiated within and by various publics. Hence, these publics cannot be conceptualized as passive recipients of scientific knowledge, but take an active role in its creation and distribution. The aim of this seminar is to critically assess the relationships between scientific knowledge and publics from this perspective.
We are going to investigate how scientific knowledge is contested, circulated and enacted in public arenas such as media or politics. Guiding questions will be how knowledge claims gain relevance and credibility, how scientific knowledge is legitimized and demarcated from other ways of knowing, how it is distributed and used and who is involved in what ways in these processes.
We will investigate these issues by engaging with relevant literature and debates in STS. Additionally, we will discuss and explore theoretical concepts using concrete examples and empirical material from biomedicine and social sciences. Participants are expected to read and prepare mandatory course literature and engage in discussions. Furthermore, they are invited to work on specific questions and present the results in the seminar.