The Role of Lay People in the Production and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge

In this paper is one of the first descriptions of the three main models central to the various conceptions of science communication. Callon notes that there are different ways in which science communication envisions, not just the means of dissemination, but the production of scientific knowledge. As Gieryn (1983) said, science is continually engaged in boundary-work, continually erecting and moving boundaries to keep others out and secure their rightful positions as sovereign knowledge producers. Science communicators traditionally worked as the masons and gatekeepers maintaining these boundaries. However, Callon recognizes a public crisis of confidence in specialists that he argues results from this “great divide between specialists and non-specialists” (p. 82) as a byproduct of such boundary-work. The way to solve this crisis, Callon argues, isn’t more persuasive communication techniques, but by exploring and implementing “the diversity of possible modes of participation by non-specialists in scientific and technological debates” (p. 82). Thus, science communication must reconsider the degree to which lay people have a role in formulating and applying knowledge. He calls his models: 1) The Public Education Model; 2) The Public Debate Model; and 3) The Co-production of Knowledge Model.

Metcalfe (2019) associates these with the Deficit, Dialogue, and Participatory models respectively. Each model, from the former to the latter, is characterized by increased public involvement. The dynamics active in the first model is trust, in the second is representation, and in the third is in security (i.e. producing knowledge that both defends the identities and interests of the minorities involved and achieves a common good). With this article Callon catalyzes interrogations into the role of the lay public in producing scientific knowledge. This shift queers roles and reorders the distribution of power for each group involved; perhaps why science communication is often so reluctant to fully embrace participatory models. This article provides me with tools to assess and redesign the role of science communication in determining and facilitating the role of public participation in the production of knowledge.

Reference:

Callon, M. (1999). The Role of Lay People in the Production and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge. Science Technology & Society, 4(1), 81–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/097172189900400106