Call for Papers: Third Iowa State University Summer Symposium on Science Communication

Ethical Issues in Science Communication: A Theory-Based Approach
May 30 - June 1, 2013; Ames, IA

As science continues to become implicated in personal and collective decision-making, the stakes for communicating science to non-expert  audiences intensify. In such an environment, a clear articulation of ethical issues arising from science communication is essential. Unfortunately, such an articulation does not yet exist. The purpose of this symposium is to bring together scholars from across disciplines whose research can contribute toward a theoretical articulation of the ethical issues surrounding the communication of science to non-expert audiences.

For this symposium, we invite work from relevant disciplines including communication, rhetoric, philosophy, science and technology studies, and the sciences themselves, on topics such as:

• The underlying goals of science communication
• Specific ethical issues within science communication, such as hype, spin, appropriate advocacy
• Ethical standards for the use of non-rational appeals such as narrative, framing, and metaphor
• Normative roles of scientists, citizens, science journalists, science bloggers and other stakeholders within the science communication process
• Ethical challenges in communicating subjects such as risk and uncertainty
• Normative issues in the design of public participation processes
• Empirical work on the perceptions of ethical issues from the perspectives of various stakeholders
• Approaches to teaching science communication ethics

This list is illustrative but not intended to be exhaustive. Work at all stages of development is invited--from early overviews to completed studies. We expect to be able to support travel costs for at least some participants. Contact Michael Dahlstrom, email below, for more information.

Proceedings of the workshop will be published in print-on-demand and electronic formats. In addition, this event will serve as the first of a two-part symposium series aimed at the creation of an edited volume introducing the best available work on issues in science communication ethics to our scholarly communities and helping to define the area for future study.

For consideration, submit to m...@iastate.edu by January 31, 2013:  (a) a 250-500 word abstract with an additional 5-10 item bibliography, and (b) a separate cover page with complete contact information, an indication of the status of the work (from early overview to completed study), and an indication of whether you are seeking funding. Submission deadline: January 31, 2013

Organizing committee:  Michael Dahlstrom and Jean Goodwin (Iowa State University), and Susanna Priest (University of Washington)