Science Communication Is Culture: Foregrounding Ritual in the Public Communication of Science

Abstract

This commentary demonstrates the relevance of James Carey’s ritual view of communication for the field of science communication. A ritual view of communication invites examination of the geographical, historical, and material dimensions of communication where dialogues, bodies, public spaces, and comestibles provide enabling conditions for democratic engagement. This is an opportune time for science communications scholars to engage with Carey’s ideas as the field moves from deficit accounts of communication to the dialogic and cultural models that have become more prevalent in recent decades. A ritual view highlights the importance of theoretical, humanist approaches as complements to empirical, instrumental accounts of science communication.