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From "Politico-Scientists" to Democratizing Science Movements

The Changing Climate of Citizens and Science

University of Pennsylvania

The Committee for Nuclear Information (CNI) was one of the first movements to translate expert knowledge to the public. It was led by "politico-scientists" who meant to advance an ethics of science by contributing to public understanding. Since then, citizens have taken research into their own hands, using it to frame issues, challenge corporate practices, and change policy. Movement methods that respond to consistent activist concerns about science are reflected in "democratizing science movements" (DSMs) that have grown, expanded, and changed in the past 50 years. This article compares the CNI to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a group of organizations that have critiqued the hazardous ingredients in personal care products. The aim is to update our understanding of how movements use science to protect health and improve the environment since the CNI. Like CNI, Campaign activists have used science to educate the public about hazardous exposures; however, the Campaign reflects that over time, lay people have become more central to scientific production as well as more able to use it without the assistance of experts. It is argued that in Commoner's time scientists focused on translating results and meanings for lay audiences whereas today, movements use science to heighten the political nature of the issue through reframing.

Key Words: science • social movements • democratizing science movements

This version was published on March 1, 2009

Organization & Environment, Vol. 22, No. 1, 34-51 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1086026609333419


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