An Impossible Turn? The Dialogical/Participatory Potential of Science Communication Provided by Science Centers in Light of Niklas Luhmann's Systems Theory
An Impossible Turn? The Dialogical/Participatory Potential of Science Communication Provided by Science Centers in Light of Niklas Luhmann's Systems Theory

Summary/Abstract: One important dimension of the debate surrounding science communication is the tension between the implementation of the deficit model and the repeated calls for the adoption of dialogical and participatory models. This article aims to show this friction empirically and interpret it theoretically. The text uses the operation of science centers as a form of science communication. Niklas Luh- mann's systems theory serves as a tool to capture the broad structural difficulty in implementing participatory demands in science communication. This paper is based on research conducted in Polish science centers. It demonstrates that even in the organizationally favourable and relatively inclusive conditions of- fered by these centers, the environment as a whole cannot regulate the activi- ties of the science system. It lacks knowledge of the essential social determi- nants of research activity and the areas of unfinished science. Conversely, the detailed findings of science are challenging to integrate such that they become comprehensively readable by the community without becoming a scientific black box. Luhmann's theory elucidates this fundamental difficulty in building the science-society relationship. From this perspective, a consistent and broad turn towards the dialogical and participatory model appears impossible.

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