How Science Communicators Produce Lay-Accessible Medical Knowledge

• In Event: Sociology of Culture Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 10. The Cultural Authority of Science & Medicine

Abstract

Patient autonomy is foundational to modern medical care. In the absence of formal training, many people turn to the growing field of science communication—cultural products ranging from books to shortform videos that translate science for lay use—to make informed decisions about their care. Despite the proliferation and importance of this media, sociologists have generally studied what information reaches the public rather than how science communicators make these decisions. I argue that scholars seeking to understand the public’s relationship with science and medicine must treat science communicators as cultural producers whose workflows systematically shape what laypeople perceive to be credible medical knowledge. To develop a model of this process, I conduct an archival examination of correspondence, drafts, and meeting notes that document over 200 decisions made throughout the production of one extremely influential science communication project, the women’s health book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Preliminary results indicate that science communication includes four highly discretionary and collaborative subprocesses: acquisition, adjudication, simplification, and complication. In contrast to the linear dissemination model, this framework of science communication foregrounds the agency of science communicators and the contingencies of their interactions in determining what the public hears about medical science. I conclude by discussing how this theoretical framework can help sociologists better understand public trust in science.

Author

• Sydney Sauer, Harvard University