Structure of the Curriculum

Science Communication (YE)

Course PDF
Science Communication (YE)
COURSE OUTLINE
GENERAL
SCHOOLSchool of Economics and Political Science
DEPARTMENTSociology
Level of StudyUndergraduate
COURSE CODE431108
COURSE TITLEScience Communication (YE)
Independent Teaching Activities Weekly Teaching Hours CREDIT UNITS
—
Course TypeSpecial Background
Prerequisite CoursesNo
Teaching and Examination LanguageGreek with English instruction capability
THE COURSE IS OFFERED TO ERASMUS STUDENTSYes
Course Webpage (URL)
(2) LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to:

  • Use the conceptual framework of the course to understand in new ways the stakes concerning the science-society relationship.
  • Critically evaluate the role of experts in political decision-making.
  • To criticize cliché and linear receptions of the techno-scientific future and to highlight the dynamic character of the relationships between science, technology, and society.
  • Understand in depth and manage with sociological sensitivity the issues of pseudoscience and fake news.
  • To act as «epistemic intermediaries,» meaning to coordinate actions between experts from different fields of knowledge.
  • To organize actions that will encourage citizen science as well as citizen participation in techno-scientific decision-making.

General Capabilities

  • Search, analysis and synthesis of data and information
  • Decision making
  • Adaptation to new situations
  • Teamwork
  • Working in an international environment
  • Working in an interdisciplinary environment
  • Generation of new research ideas
  • Demonstration of social and ethical sensitivity on issues concerning technoscience
  • Sensitivity to cultural diversity and alternative cognitive traditions
(3) COURSE CONTENT
  1. Definitions of science communication
  2. From Science Popularization to Science Communication: Political Stakes
  3. The historical development of the communication of scientific ideas to the general public
  4. The Origins of Science Communication, 17th–19th Centuries
  5. Channels of Communication: From Expert Communities to the Public Sphere
  6. Theories of How Non-Experts Perceive Science and Technology
  7. Science communication in the risk society
  8. The public's knowledge and attitudes toward science and technology issues
  9. The role of the mass media in the public (non-)understanding of technoscience
  10. The role of science fiction in the public understanding of technoscience
  11. The Role of the Internet in the Democratization of Science
  12. Public Participation in Science and Technology Decision-Making
  13. Citizen science
(4) TEACHING & LEARNING METHODS – EVALUATION
DELIVERY METHODDevelopment of topics in class and discussion. Lectures by scientists, artists, and practitioners specializing in Science Communication issues.
Information and Communication Technologies
  • Use of Audiovisual Media in Teaching
  • View related movies and streaming from online platforms
  • Use of students' mobile phones for on-site research and retrieval of specialized information from the World Wide Web.
  • Use of the e-class platform to communicate with students and to post supplementary materials.
Activity Semester Workload
Lectures 24
Social research simulations 15
Study of Required Reading 41
Study of supplementary material and preparation of assignments 40
Preparing for an Evaluation 30
Course Summary 150
Student Evaluation
Process Description Evaluation

Student assessment is conducted in two alternative ways.

Students who have actively participated in the course throughout the semester are encouraged to write an essay on a topic to be agreed upon between the instructor and the student.

For students who did not systematically attend the course, a written examination is proposed according to the following template.

  • The examination covers the entire syllabus and is in the form of essay questions.
  • During the examination, the use of books and notes is permitted. Collaboration among students is also encouraged for the collective processing of the questions.
  • The answer to the questions is considered complete when it is factually accurate, satisfactorily justified, and clearly formulated.
(5) RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Suggested Bibliography

  • Bowler, P. J. (2009). Science for All: The Popularization of Science in Early Twentieth-Century Britain. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Bucchi, M., & Trench, B. (eds.) (2021). Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology, 3rd ed. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Christidou, V., Dimopoulos, K., & Koulaidis, V. (2004). Constructing social representations of science and technology: the role of metaphors in the press and the popular scientific magazines. Public Understanding of Science, 13(4), 347-362.
  • Habermas, J. (1989). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
  • Sismondo, S. (2016). Introduction on the Studies Science and Technology, translated by Varvara Spyropoulou, edited by Manolis Patiniotis. Athens: Liberal Books.
  • Trench, B. (2006). Science communication and citizen science: how dead is the deficit model? in IX International Conference on Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST), Seoul, Korea.

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