Democratizing science movements: A new framework for contestation

TitleDemocratizing science movements: A new framework for contestation
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
Authors
JournalSocial Studies of Science
Volume37
Pagination609–623
Abstract

This paper develops a framework for understanding social movements that address issues related to science, technology and expert knowledge. ‘Democratizing science movements’ contest, reframe, and engage in the production of official scientific research in order to achieve their goals. They contest the seeming
objectivity and neutrality of science and seek to legitimate lay perspectives. In order to empirically explore why such movements arise and how they work, I discuss two cases: the anti-dam movement in Brazil and the environmental breast cancer movement in the USA. While there are obvious internal and contextual differences between these two movements, they both exemplify similar characteristics of democratizing science movements. In this sense, these cases are representative of a
broader, transnational phenomenon. Qualitative data in the form of interviews, ethnographic observations and document collection were used to study these cases.

Collection: