Boundary Work: Presenting Science in Context

The preface and introduction said this book would talk about how popular science writing can do a better job of fostering critical conversations about science, especially science that affects, or is of interest to, civil society. After pausing for few chapters to talk about rhetorical theory (Chapter 2), the history of scientific writing (Chapter 3), and what popular science writers say about their craft (Chapter 4), I am turning my attention to that promised topic with these five ‘application’ chapters. The first four chapters in this part look at relationships—the relationships between the sciences and the other parts of civil society (this chapter), between different kinds of expertise (Chapter 6), between writers and readers (Chapter 7), and between readers and science (Chapter 8). The final application chapter draws together strands from Chapters 5–8 in a discussion of applying CUSP (Critical Understanding of Science in Public) principles to controversial areas of science and questions of risk.