Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online
For years, technology optimists have hoped that the internet might serve as a vehicle for democratization. Meanwhile, many STS-scholars have called for a democratization of scientific practices through increased transparency and inclusion of lay-persons in scientific knowledge production. Many expec...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies
2015-06-01
|
| Series: | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.nordicsts.org/index.php/njsts/article/view/32 |
| _version_ | 1797722409206284288 |
|---|---|
| author | Tomas Moe Skjølsvold Marianne Ryghaug Eirik Frøhaug Swensen |
| author_facet | Tomas Moe Skjølsvold Marianne Ryghaug Eirik Frøhaug Swensen |
| author_sort | Tomas Moe Skjølsvold |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For years, technology optimists have hoped that the internet might serve as a vehicle for democratization. Meanwhile, many STS-scholars have called for a democratization of scientific practices through increased transparency and inclusion of lay-persons in scientific knowledge production. Many expect this to result in increased scientific quality and more legitimate knowledge claims. In this article, we explore what happens
when science related communication moves online. Do climate scientists and climate ‘skeptics’ use the internet to engage lay persons in factual deliberations and debate? Does the rise of the internet as a channel of science communication herald a new,
democratic scientific era? Our paper suggests that such claims should be made with caution. Instead we identify two ways that the internet is used by climate scientists. First, it is a tool to fight a cold war with climate skeptics, a dynamic which is hidden
from public view. Second, it is a site of education, where ready-made packets of facts should be transported to lay-people to mitigate perceived knowledge deficits. This strategy is mimicked by climate skeptics who attempt to make their communication
appear more scientific than the scientists. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:46:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e6ec0e3bd0641dfaeefa9de6186c85e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1894-4647 1894-4647 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T09:46:57Z |
| publishDate | 2015-06-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e6ec0e3bd0641dfaeefa9de6186c85e2023-09-02T12:46:48ZengNordic Journal of Science and Technology StudiesNordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies1894-46471894-46472015-06-01312233Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue onlineTomas Moe Skjølsvold0Marianne Ryghaug1Eirik Frøhaug Swensen2Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyFor years, technology optimists have hoped that the internet might serve as a vehicle for democratization. Meanwhile, many STS-scholars have called for a democratization of scientific practices through increased transparency and inclusion of lay-persons in scientific knowledge production. Many expect this to result in increased scientific quality and more legitimate knowledge claims. In this article, we explore what happens when science related communication moves online. Do climate scientists and climate ‘skeptics’ use the internet to engage lay persons in factual deliberations and debate? Does the rise of the internet as a channel of science communication herald a new, democratic scientific era? Our paper suggests that such claims should be made with caution. Instead we identify two ways that the internet is used by climate scientists. First, it is a tool to fight a cold war with climate skeptics, a dynamic which is hidden from public view. Second, it is a site of education, where ready-made packets of facts should be transported to lay-people to mitigate perceived knowledge deficits. This strategy is mimicked by climate skeptics who attempt to make their communication appear more scientific than the scientists.http://www.nordicsts.org/index.php/njsts/article/view/32climate communicationclimate scienceonline communicationscientific democratization |
| spellingShingle | Tomas Moe Skjølsvold Marianne Ryghaug Eirik Frøhaug Swensen Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies climate communication climate science online communication scientific democratization |
| title | Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| title_full | Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| title_fullStr | Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| title_full_unstemmed | Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| title_short | Democracy or war? The communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| title_sort | democracy or war the communication and deliberation of the climate issue online |
| topic | climate communication climate science online communication scientific democratization |
| url | http://www.nordicsts.org/index.php/njsts/article/view/32 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomasmoeskjølsvold democracyorwarthecommunicationanddeliberationoftheclimateissueonline AT marianneryghaug democracyorwarthecommunicationanddeliberationoftheclimateissueonline AT eirikfrøhaugswensen democracyorwarthecommunicationanddeliberationoftheclimateissueonline |