This paper discusses how science communication and STS more broadly can learn from a series of recent books about the so-called Art, Science and Technology Studies movement.
Long abstract:
Recent years have witnessed the publication of several books, which focus on the relationship between art and STS. Taken together, these books provide a rich variety of interesting perspectives. However, my particular focus in this paper is on how they reinvigorate STS’s engagement in science-society relations and how they support renewed interest in public communication about science and technology. To situate this focus, I start with a short introduction to my own personal history of working with science communication and the questions which the books have helped me illuminate and reflect upon. Subsequently, I have divided my discussion into five major parts. The first will engage with the various relationships between art, science, technology and STS that the books identify. The second part focuses particularly on the relationship between art and science and will discuss the consequences of considering art as a form of knowledge production. A third part zooms in on what the books tell us about collaborations across art, science and technology. Subsequently, the fourth part discusses how the books portray the specific relationship between art, STS and science communication. The last section before a final concluding comment on ethics focuses on how these different fields relate to their audiences.