Are you involved in public science engagement, or thinking about it? Are you interested in promoting dialogue about science with a broader spectrum of individuals and communities? Are you concerned about effectively navigating potential tensions at the intersections of science, culture, and faith in your classroom, your laboratory, on social media, in policy discussions, or in public settings?
The Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics workshop is a collaboration between the Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program and the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, both situated within the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It is intended as a professional development opportunity for students, communicators, educators, scientists and other professionals in STEM fields.
In this workshop, AAAS facilitators lead participants through an overview of why culture (including spirituality and faith) and worldview are important considerations for science engagement, and present strategies and best practices for effective and inclusive dialogue about science topics. The workshop includes moderated discussions and a small-group exercise to respond to a challenging question or scenario. While the focus is on dialogue with religious publics, the workshop content is relevant and applicable to effective science education, communication and engagement with a broad range of audiences.
Participants will:
- REVIEW key fundamentals for science communication and engagement;
- LEARN why dialogue with religious/spiritual publics is an important dimension to consider in effective and inclusive public science engagement;
- DISCUSS potential difficulties in engagement with religious publics on science issues;
- UNDERSTAND social science perspectives on science communication and faith;
- APPLY approaches for effective engagement on challenging questions or topics.
The DoSER workshop will be offered at six universities around the US in 2019 as part of the Engaging Scientists in the Science and Religion Dialogue project.
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS (open to affiliated graduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff working in STEM fields)
- January 25, 2019 - Stanford University, Stanford CA
Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics Workshop
- February 17, 2019 - AAAS Annual Meeting, Washington DC (open to all registered AAAS meeting attendees)
Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics Workshop (Morning)
Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics Workshop (Afternoon)
- February 27, 2019 - Howard University, Washington DC
Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics Workshop
- March 20, 2019 - Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN
Science Communication and Engagement with Religious Publics Workshop
- March 25, 2019 - UMBC, Baltimore MD (registration link forthcoming)
- April 2, 2019 - Indiana University, Bloomington IN (registration link forthcoming)
Contact DoSER@aaas.org for more information.