From Producers of “Cognizant Publics” to Apolitical Experts? Analysing the media engagements of scientists in post-Socialist Serbia Cover Image

Od stvaratelja “svjesne javnosti” do apolitičnih stručnjaka? Analiza medijskih istupa znanstvenika u Srbiji nakon raspada socijalizma
From Producers of “Cognizant Publics” to Apolitical Experts? Analysing the media engagements of scientists in post-Socialist Serbia

Author(s): Andrew Hodges
Subject(s): Customs / Folklore
Published by: Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku
Keywords: ethnography; science; post-socialism; Serbia; media

Summary/Abstract: This article explores ethnographically the various media engagements of astrophysics researchers in Belgrade, Serbia. At one extreme, I explore engagements whose primary objectives include engaging with and enlisting a “public” and a new generation of scientists. At the other extreme, I explore engagements which took the form of polemical discussions concerning complex social and political issues. I interpret these as connected as much with power struggles within existing groupings of academics as in trying to enlist a public. I finally bring these different strands together through Verdery’s concept of “cognizant publics” and the idea of a “scientific expert”.

  • Issue Year: 50/2013
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 163-180
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English