An initial intermedia study of science on television and in museums

电视和博物馆中科学的初步媒介研究

基本信息

批准号：
AH/J01141X/1
负责人：
Timothy Boon
金额：
$ 3.01万
依托单位：
Science Museum Group
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2012 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FJ01141X%2F1
关键词：
initial intermedia study science television

项目摘要

In our scientific and technological society, many from within science argue for the importance of public engagement in science. The arguments are well established, and can be traced in various forms to the 18th century. Humanities perspectives, in this case historical research, can enrich this debate by providing understanding of how the public culture of science has operated in the past; here is the evidence base for the different modes in which science may be presented and consumed. This is a growing field of study within the discipline of the history of science. Much of the work published so far has concentrated on the written word, on books, newspapers and magazines; this is as true of the postwar period as it is of the longer history. The scoping project here, by contrast, looks at the visual media of television and museum display. Arguably this is a very necessary corrective to the existing textual emphasis, especially for the period since 1945 when visual media have gained enormous significance in science communication, as in every department of culture. The proposal argues that it is necessary to move away from studies focussing on single media; to understand how science communication operated within society, we must look at the nature of communication itself and, within the formulation of this project, we propose to achieve that by drawing comparisons between science communication in the time-based medium of television and the spatial medium of museum display. Past TV producers and museum curators existed within the same general culture; they were subject to similar - sometimes effectively identical - pressures from interest groups; and they often produced public representations of the same subjects. By studying both media together it should be possible to 'subtract out' the specifics of each medium and understand significantly more about the activity of science communication itself. We hope to untangle what is intrinsic to each medium; how historical contingency - eg recruiting practices for professional staff - affects mediation; what may be common between media (eg pressure from elites and organisations); and attitudes held in common, for example deference to expertise or authority. The period chosen - 1945-1970 - is particularly interesting and appropriate for this study. I have argued elsewhere that this era, and specifically 1957 to 1964, should be considered the point at which science on television became established. The BBC's Horizon began transmission in 1964 and, by the end of 1969 had broadcasted 135 issues. Neither was The Science Museum a backwater in this period: 85 special exhibitions were held between 1946 and 1970, at the same time as the Museum's staff also installed a suite of new galleries into a major new building. Furthermore, this was the era in which activities supplementary to the object displays - lectures, film shows, schools' provision - increased markedly. The comparative approach arises from a highly suggestive 1990 paper by Ghislaine Lawrence, which compared 1950s medical TV and exhibitions. To explore the benefits of the approach when applied to a wider range of programmes and displays requires this scoping study, which we hope will deliver 'proof of concept'. For reasons of achievability, this project focuses on British television and the Science Museum South Kensington; a much more comprehensive picture is a good ambition, but one that will require much more extended study.

在我们的科学和技术社会中，许多来自科学内部的许多人都认为公众参与科学的重要性。这些论点已经建立得很好，可以以各种形式追溯到18世纪。在这种情况下，人文科学的观点可以通过了解过去的公共文化如何运作来丰富这一辩论。这是可以呈现和消耗科学的不同模式的证据基础。这是科学史学科中越来越多的研究领域。到目前为止，出版的许多作品都集中在书面文字，书籍，报纸和杂志上。战后时期与较长的历史一样。相比之下，这里的范围范围项目着眼于电视和博物馆展示的视觉媒体。可以说，这是对现有文本重点的非常必要的纠正，尤其是在1945年以来视觉媒体在科学传播中具有巨大意义的时期，就像每个文化部门一样。该提案认为，有必要摆脱专注于单个媒体的研究。为了了解科学沟通在社会中的运作方式，我们必须研究沟通本身的本质，并在该项目的提出中，我们建议通过在电视的基于时间的电视媒介和博物馆展示的空间媒介中进行科学沟通之间的比较来实现这一目标。过去的电视制作人和博物馆策展人存在于同一一般文化中。他们受到利益群体的相似压力 - 有时有效地相同；他们经常产生同一主题的公开代表。通过一起研究两个媒体，应该可以“减去”每种媒介的细节，并对科学交流本身的活动有了更大的了解。我们希望解开每种媒介固有的内容。历史意外如何 - 例如专业员工的招聘实践 - 影响调解；媒体之间可能常见的是（例如精英和组织的压力）；和态度共同，例如对专业知识或权威的尊重。所选的时期-1945-1970-特别有趣，适合这项研究。我在其他地方辩称，这个时代，尤其是1957年至1964年，应被视为电视上的科学建立的观点。英国广播公司（BBC）的视野始于1964年，到1969年底，已经播出了135期。在此期间，科学博物馆也不是回水：1946年至1970年之间举行了85次特别展览，同时，博物馆的工作人员还安装了一套新的画廊，进入了一座主要的新建筑。此外，这是一个补充对象展示的活动 - 讲座，电影节目，学校的规定 - 明显增加。比较方法源于Ghislaine Lawrence的1990年一篇极富暗示的论文，该论文比较了1950年代的医疗电视和展览。为了探索将方法应用于更广泛的程序和显示范围时，需要这项范围研究，我们希望这将提供“概念验证”。出于实现能力的原因，该项目着重于英国电视台和科学博物馆南肯辛顿。更全面的图片是一个很好的野心，但需要更广泛的研究。