The Routledge Handbook of Language and Science

Description

The Routledge Handbook of Language and Science provides a state-of-the-art volume on the language of scientific processes and communications. This book offers comprehensive coverage of socio-cultural approaches to science, as well as analysing new theoretical developments and incorporating discussions about future directions within the field. Featuring original contributions from an international range of renowned scholars, as well as academics at the forefront of innovative research, this handbook: identifies common objects of inquiry across the areas of rhetoric, sociolinguistics, communication studies, science and technology studies, and public understanding of science; covers the four key themes of power, pedagogy, public engagement, and materiality in relation to the study of scientific language and its development; uses qualitative and quantitative approaches to demonstrate how humanities and social science scholars can go about studying science; details the meaning and purpose of socio-cultural approaches to science, including the impact of new media technologies; analyses the history of the field and how it positions itself in relation to other areas of study. Ushering the study of language and science toward a more interdisciplinary, diverse, communal and ecological future, The Routledge Handbook of Language and Science is an essential reference for anyone with an interest in this area. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of contents Figures Tables Contributors Part I History and development of language and science 1 Language and science from a rhetorical perspective The rhetoric of science scholar Metaphor Other figurative language Ethos Conclusion Notes 2 Social semiotic approaches to language in science: A history of engagement with language and science Introduction History and development Semiotic resources and formations in science fair presentations The role of semiotics in textbook illustrations and other images Semiotics supporting language through art Semiotics in science writing New directions for the field given historical concerns Notes 3 Public understanding of science: Popularisation, perceptions and publics The evolution of science communication and the place of PUS PUS and popularisation: the concept of science Popularisation of climate science and farming knowledge PUS and perceptions: the concept of understanding Perceptions of trust increase with participation PUS and publics: constructing multiple publics Publics influence on knowledge creation Conclusion Notes 4 Science, journalism, and the language of (un)certainty: A review of science journalists’ use of language in reports on scienc Introduction: science journalism, (un)certainty, and language Representation of scientific (un)certainty in the media Media depiction of criteria relevant to assess scientific evidence Balance of competing scientific claims Conclusion Notes 5 Language and science in science and technology studies The voice of nature: word, style, and narrative A sovereign space Science in translation Science and public understanding Conclusion Notes Part II Language and power 6 Language, power, and public engagement in science Rhetorical devices in expert discourses (a) Hyperbolic framing (b) Bundling and closing public concerns (c) Normalisation of problems Rhetorical devices in public dialogue Conclusions Notes 7 Rhetoric’s materialist traditions and the shifting terrain of economic agency The ideological turn and oppositional agentive subjects The biopolitical turn and cartographic agency The new materialist turn and posthuman agency Marxist valuation and posthumanist materiality Notes 8 Accounting for ‘genetics’ and ‘race’ requires a use-focused theory of language The model of language in the warnings about ‘race-and-science’ The expectable unexpected findings of research on ‘genetics’ and ‘race’ (1) Ordinary people are more likely to attribute perceived differences in racial groups (if any) to factors other than genetics (2) More precisely, people recognize that the physical features most commonly used to assign people to racialized groups are linked to genes, but they do not believe that this means non-physical perceived differences in racialized groups are linked to g (3) Some people are predisposed toward racism, and they use genetics for their racist ends, just as they use cultural or individually based attributions for those ends (4) You can prompt racism with ‘genetics’ cues, sometimes ‘Racism’ is not a stable single belief but a difficult-to-define set of uses Upgrading our theory of language in light of studies of the interface of ‘genetics’ in science and popular language Summary Notes 9 Encomium of the harlot, or, a rhetoric of refusal Part I: the proposal Part II: the case for acceptance Part III: the harlot’s refusal Notes 10 Gender and the language of science: The case of CRISPR Sexed and gendered discourses Gender, genre, and scientific priority Gender and ethics Gender and ethos Humility Femininity Intensity Perfectionism Gendered patterns in scientific language Notes Part III Language and pedagogy 11 Rhetorical invention and visual rhetoric: Toward a multimodal pedagogy of scientific writing Why we need a multimodal pedagogy for rhetoric of science: science is multimodal Why we should use rhetoric for a multimodal pedagogy Rhetorical invention and visual rhetoric of science Conclusion: using the canon of invention in teaching science writing Notes 12 Use of personal pronouns in science laboratory reports Introduction Literature review Method Data sets Data analysis Results Use of I and we to state results or make claims I and we as opinion holders/to elaborate an argument To define terms Disciplinary informant/textbook voice Recounting experimental procedure I or we as architect or guide I or we as architect/To state a purpose I and we as guide Representing the community Representing the discourse community Representing the community in mathematical argument Representing people in general We as research participants Teaching implications: appropriate use of personal pronouns in academic writing Conclusion Notes 13 Dialogic approaches to supporting argumentation in the elementary science classroom Argumentation in science instruction The sociocultural view of practices Challenges to enacting argumentation in the classroom Research on supporting dialogue in the classroom Strand 1: characteristics of classroom culture that support argumentation Strand 2: features of classroom tasks that support argument Strand 3: linguistic scaffolds for teachers and students Strand 4: characteristics of productive talk Case study Segment 1: cycling between types of talk Segment 2: extended segment of exploratory talk Segment 3: shift towards disputational talk Discussion Implications Conclusion Notes 14 The ‘objective truths’ of the classroom: Using Foucault and discourse analysis to unpack structuring concepts in science What is understanding? Where did this pursuit of understanding come from? How is language such as ‘understanding’ enacted in the classroom Concluding remarks Notes 15 Iterative language pedagogy for science writing: Discovering the language of architectural engineering Background Features of the language of science Corpus tools for analysing scientific texts The Web as corpus Specialised corpora Combining the rhetorical and corpus approach to analyse science discourse An iterative corpus method case study: writing for architects Conclusions Notes Part IV Language and materiality 16 Of matter and money: Material-semiotic methods for the study of science and language Theoretical foundations Differential attunements Technological metaphors Biological metaphors (Meta)physical constructs Performative metaphors Attunements and affordances Calibration in action A cyborgian corrective Critical ANT Finding your attunement Notes 17 Anatomical presencing: Visualisation, model-making, and embodied interaction in a language-rich space Rhetoric as an art of making present Visualising bodies in the anatomy lab Anatomical images as analogy-like models Putting words to images Conclusion Notes 18 Narrative, drama, and science communication Why narrative? Performing science Science, drama, and the exploration of ideas Conclusions Notes 19 Language, materiality, and emotions in science learning settings Dichotomy between science and emotions in science education Social pathologies within the dichotomy Current assumptions about conceptualizations of emotions Considering materiality of emotions in science education scholarship Orienting to materiality of emotional discourse and science Openings for the materiality of emotions in discourse of science Conclusion Notes 20 The materialist rhetoric about SARS sequelae in China: Networked risk communication, social justice, and immaterial labor Materiality and materialist rhetoric Social justice and rhetoric SARS sequelae in survivors and family clusters Case 1: MCWs suffering from SARS sequelae Case 2: non-MCW patients in Beijing Differential treatments of MCW survivors and non-MCW survivors Fang Bo: the model SARS patient and self-trained advocate Rhetorical endeavors to fight for a more dignified post-SARS life Materialist rhetoric, social justice, and SARS sequelae Notes Part V Language and public engagement 21 Exploring public engagement in environmental rhetoric Literature and book reviews Methods Rhetorical analysis and case studies Expert strategies Skeptical strategies Diverse publics Organisational responses Historical responses Multimodal responses Responses in the media Intercultural responses International responses Overall assessment Case study: rhetorical text mining Conclusion Notes 22 Heuristics for communicating science, risk, and crisis: Encouraging guided inquiry in challenging rhetorical situations—the Scientists’ goals for communicating and knowledge of audiences Scholarship in science communication, risk communication, and crisis communication The default deficit model of science, risk, and crisis communication Kairos, heuristics, and the CAUSE model for science, risk, and crisis communication The CAUSE model of science, risk, and crisis communication The C in CAUSE: earning audience confidence The A in CAUSE: gaining awareness The U in CAUSE: deepening understanding Four steps for explaining key concepts Promoting visualization Four steps for explaining hard-to-believe scientific ideas The S in CAUSE: supporting decision making Supporting decision making The E in CAUSE: enactment Heuristics to analyze enactment Cautions and conclusion Notes 23 When expertises clash: (Topic) modeling stasis about complex issues across large discursive corpora Pathways from expertise to expertises The logic(s) of engagements between expertises Modeling spaces of invention: a tentative proof-of-concept Discussion, and what’s next Notes 24 Blasting for science: Rhetorical antidotes to anti-vax discourse in the Italian public sphere From scientist citizen to scientist activist A populist war on science: vaccination edition Blasting for science Blasting science into the public sphere Trolling the trolls, putting out flames Conclusion: keep on blasting them! Notes 25 Exploring conversations about science in new media Science, culture, and language A study in public debate: the replication crisis Conclusion Notes Part VI Futures for language and science 26 Rhetorical futures for the study of language and science: Theorizing interpublics in/for healthcare Publics theorizing Healthcare workers as an ‘interpublic’ Mandatory flu vaccinations for healthcare workers Interpublic resistance rhetoric Inconsistent care Special treatments Future studies Notes 27 Ecologies of genres and an ecology of languages of science: Current and future debates A changing sociolinguistic landscape The scientific community and its specific linguistically diverse ecosystem Future research on genres for science dissemination Future research on languages for science dissemination Notes 28 Becoming the other: The body in translation Case I: François Montel Case II: Stephen Hawking Case III: the thinking person’s disease or Type 1 Diabetes The world is a dream: where should we go next? Notes 29 Science communication on social media: Current trends, future challenges Introduction Public communication of science: a tricky concept to define Science communication on social media Science and technology on YouTube: a participatory culture boom or revamping the cognitive deficit model? Background of the study Method and corpus Results of video subject matter and video style Purpose of communicator Rhetorical resources Future challenges: the open debate on science in social media Notes 30 Language and science: Emerging themes in public science communication Introduction 1 Beyond discourse 2 Beyond critique 3 Beyond deficit and dialogue Discussion Notes Bibliography Index