Heather Conklin 
This month we are discussing what is a timely and growing concern–the spread of anti vaccine views online, after a hiatus of several months due to COVID-19 . During our Twitter chat on July 14th at 6pm (PDT), we will be discussing the recently published article, “The Online Competition Between Pro- and Anti-Vaccination Views,” by … Read more
As an international collective, the Science Communication Journal Club (ScicommJC) is committed to the fight for justice and we stand with the Black community in the U.S. and internationally. We condemn all forms of hate, violence, and injustice. The loss of Black lives from police brutality and radical violence–George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and … Read more
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Whom is science communication inclusive of, if not for all? I was taught that science is all about objectivity and rigor, and that science doesn’t care who you are. But science, like all other institutions, is susceptible to inequalities and biases. As science communicators, we know how important it … Read more
What is at the root of science denial? Our October Twitter chat focused on whether or not education plays a part in science denial and polarization of public opinion on controversial science topics. We reviewed findings from a recently published paper by Caitlin Drummond and Baruch Fischhoff, which revealed an unexpected “paradox of polarization.” We … Read more
Education strengthens science communication. Or does it??? Contrary to common sense (and conventional science communication approaches), increasing scientific education may actually enhances polarization in public opinion on controversial issues in science! We refer to this dynamic as the paradox of polarization. This month we are reviewing the article, “Individuals with Greater Science Literacy and … Read more
During our April Twitter chat, we discussed the topic of “Building Public Trust in Science: Communicating Science Across the Partisan Divide.” We were joined by special guest, Mark Smith (@MS71541719), Honorable Mention Winner of our State Your Mission Challenge and former climate change skeptic turned environmental advocate. To kick off our discussion, we briefly reviewed … Read more
We received some awesome mission statement submissions during last month’s State Your Mission Challenge! One of our favorite mission statements got us thinking about some intriguing questions… Science (and by default, scientists) has become quite politicized, particularly around certain issues that are often the focus of partisan debates, such as climate change. How can … Read more
We discussed the paper entitled, “Experiments in Engagement: Designing Public Engagement with Science and Technology for Capacity Building” by Selin, et al. during our Twitter chat on October 3, 2017. A summary of the paper can be found here. The paper was an attempt to address the broad question of how we can build capacity … Read more