Hi,
I'm recently back from a few months working in the US. A couple of
things I'd say based on that experience:
(a) In terms of networking, remember it's a big country, so things
often happen at a more local level than nationally. So, rather than a
psci com style list you might find that city wide (perhaps
state-based) groups are the best place to start. For example, I was
largely based in DC, and found the DC sci writers association (DCSWA,
or "duck-wa") which ran a few away days, a conference and some of the
public-focused sci cafe type things as well as a science policy 'happy
hour' (meetup event) and regular sci/ art debates. In New York, there
are sci 'tweetups', which involve a lot of sci com professionals, and
a regular debate/ meetup loosely connected to science online, called
SONYC.
(b) Don't expect the same 'engagement' community you get here - I mean
that both in terms of the size of investment in science communication
activities we see in the UK, and the approach taken to such work. The
point about it being a big and diverse country is important - it
varied - but I did feel as if there was much more of an emphasis on
teaching people things, and that the whole enterprise was rather more
confrontational than we are used to in the UK. The (at least explicit)
rejection of a top-down model in favour of more discursive approaches
which stress listening and mutual learning that we are more and more
used to in the UK was rare. The DC Sci Cafe I went to, for example,
was almost entirely Q&A, and more of a PR event for a book than a Cafe
Scientifique.
Alice
-----
Dr Alice Bell
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/people/alice.bell
http://alicerosebell.wordpress.com
On 4 August 2011 11:41, Jenni Tilley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I'm just wondering if anyone knows of any lists similar to this for
> Sci-Commers on the other side of the Atlantic, or else happens to have
> experience in Sci Comm out there? I'm interested in exploring opportunities
> for Sci Comm work in America, and have no idea where to start!
>
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated
> Kind regards
> Jenni Tilley
> ------------------------------------------------------
> DPhil Student (Biomaterials),University of Oxford
> National Winner, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Young Person
> Lecture Competition 2011
>
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