Backgrounders

Ecosystem of Science Communication: Communicating the Science Solution Poster Session

SENCER Backgrounders are intended to provide intelligent, general readers with high quality syntheses of some of the complex, capacious civic issues that SENCER courses sometimes use to teach basic science. The idea is not to explain the science, but to connect some of what is known, and as yet unknown scientifically, with some of what is at stake civically. A second goal is to identify where scientific knowledge sheds light in such a way as to make civic choices more optimal. Though science is only occasionally the final word on what choice one should make on a complex civic issue, it is worth knowing what science tells us as we deliberate and take into account matters that go beyond science.

The topics for the backgrounders reflect program directions within SENCER and our campus partners’ interests and needs. We are deeply grateful to the distinguished group of authors and scholars who have contributed papers to this collection. The papers reflect each author’s point of view. We wanted it to be this way: fair, transparent, helpful, even occasionally provocative. Within the democratic aspirations of SENCER, there is room for many points of view. We welcome the use of these papers in classrooms and for the development of courses and course modules.

The authors hold the copyright for these materials, but they may be freely reproduced for non-profit use, provided credit to the authors and the SENCER program is given. Watch for new topics in this series and please let us know if these papers have been of use to you in your teaching and learning. Suggestions for topics of future SENCER Backgrounders and any other comments you might care to make are always welcome.

The SENCER Backgrounders