Hot SciComm Lab. Researching Science Communication in Multimodal Controversies

Basic data for this project

Description

The objective of this Momentum project, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, is to establish the “Hot Science Communication Lab”. The type of science communication being researched in this lab is “hot” because it focuses on scientific issues that are highly contested. The particular challenge of such "hot" science communication lies in its multimodal nature, which includes, among others, text, visuals, audio, and interactive elements. Social media, generative AI, deep fakes, or memes create an information environment in which multimodality “heats up” science communication. Through the Hot SciComm Lab, the applicant is moving her professorship towards research at the intersection of multimodality and controversies in science communication. The research conducted in the lab will entail (computational) analyses of multimodal content, as well as experiments and surveys. Integral to this endeavor are research visits abroad, along with a fellowship program enabling researchers to visit the Hot SciComm Lab. In teaching, the lab will be closely integrated in the master’s program “Knowledge & Communication”. Embracing an innovative “think-and-do tank model” as a transfer strategy, the lab will identify trusted messengers and organize workshops to empower them to effectively communicate about multimodal controversial scientific topics. The funding will run for four years starting in October 2025. The "Momentum" funding of the Volkswagen Foundation aims to create space for new thinking in research and teaching. It enables professors, 3 to 5 years after their appointment, to further develop their professorship both in terms of content and strategy.