Download 264-0-0-0-0-Chihwei Yeh- CfP SiP 2017

SiP 2017 CfP
Re: Panel 24- Bonding with Our Immediate Public: (Non)Human Dimensions of STS
research
To: Prof Joanna Latimer, Dr Meritxell Ramirez-i-Olle
From: Chihwei Yeh, PhD Candidate ([email protected]), Science, Technology and
Innovation Studies, the University of Edinburgh
TitleTalking to particle physicists
AbstractFrom Frank Close, John Ellis to Brian Cox, particle physicists have been talking a lot to
the so-labelled ‘general public’. In outreach and public engagement activities, they are
normally alone on the stage, playing solo in front of a huge crowd of audience. Besides, the
background of the stage is often dark and profound, occasionally with an old blackboard for
esoteric calculations. These scenes imply particle physicists’ social role as a truth-teller, and
the epistemic authority of their community, which inherits the scientific culture arisen from
the Western modern history.
I am a sociologist who has been observing and participating in the science communication
for particle physics since the discovery of the Higgs boson. From my experience as an
audience, particle physicists’ messages in cross-boundary settings have at least these
characteristics: lack of information, emotional, sensational and dramatic. Namely, instead of
sticking to scientific fidelity, they aim to express their passion, and tackle the ‘Why?’
questions— Why does particle physics matter? And why is it worth studying?
In the context of justification, particle physicists’ answer to these queries are value-laden.
However, influenced by Max Weber (1946), I wonder if particle physicists can provide
meaning or value to us. Therefore, in my thesis project, I flip the social relation between
particle physicists and the lay public (represented by me); I talk to particle physicists, and
observe how they account for themselves, their research, their community, and their
relations with society. I intend to sift the orderliness from our talks. My approach is inspired
by Harold Garfinkel’s Ethnomethodology Program (1967, 2002). This paper shares my
reflection on how to interrogate particle physicists’ accounts through probing, crossquestions and scientific fidelity check.
ReferenceGARFINKEL, H. 1967. Studies in Ethnomethodology, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Inc.
GARFINKEL, H. 2002. Ethnomethodology's Program: Working Out Durkheim's Aphorism, Oxford,
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
WEBER, M. 1946. Science as a Vocation In: GERTH, H. H. & MILLS, C. W. (eds.) From Max Weber:
Essays in Sociology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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