x, 294 pages ; 24 cm

Is an understanding of science important, and what are the issues involved in communicating it? Science in Public uniquely draws together the broad range of theory and practice of public understanding of science. In order to address these and other questions that face today's technological society, this book examines the history of communicating science from the eighteenth century through Michael Faraday and Thomas Huxley, and on to the present day. Detailed contemporary case studies offer insights into the communication and understanding of science

In Science in Public the ideas of sociologists and communications researchers rub shoulders with the expectations of politicians and the hopes of educators. The public is here, and so is science, in both their idealized and real-world guises. The book's scope is broad, as is the subject

Includes bibliographical references (pages 251-282) and index

The recent "Public Understanding of Science Movement" -- Science in public culture -- Popular science: friend or foe? -- Popularization, public understanding, and the public sphere -- Media issues in the public understanding of science -- Case studies in public science -- An ABC of risk: apples, beef, and comets -- Science in museums -- Initiatives and activities in the public understanding of science -- A protocol for science communication for the public understanding of science

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