Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10301
Title: | Communicating Ecology Through Art: What Scientists Think | Contributor(s): | Curtis, David (author); Reid, Nick (author)![]() |
Publication Date: | 2012 | Open Access: | Yes | DOI: | 10.5751/ES-04670-170203![]() |
Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/10301 | Abstract: | Many environmental issues facing society demand considerable public investment to reverse. However, this investment will only arise if the general community is supportive, and community support is only likely if the issues are widely understood. Scientists often find it difficult to communicate with the general public. The role of the visual and performing arts is often overlooked in this regard, yet the arts have long communicated issues, influenced and educated people, and challenged dominant paradigms. To assess the response of professional ecologists to the role of the arts in communicating science, a series of constructed performances and exhibitions was integrated into the program of a national ecological conference over five days. At the conclusion of the conference, responses were sought from the assembled scientists and research students toward using the arts for expanding audiences to ecological science. Over half the delegates said that elements of the arts program provided a conducive atmosphere for receiving information, encouraged them to reflect on alternative ways to communicate science, and persuaded them that the arts have a role in helping people understand complex scientific concepts. A sizeable minority of delegates (24%) said they would consider incorporating the arts in their extension or outreach efforts. Incorporating music, theatre, and dance into a scientific conference can have many effects on participants and audiences. The arts can synthesize and convey complex scientific information, promote new ways of looking at issues, touch people's emotions, and create a celebratory atmosphere, as was evident in this case study. In like manner, the visual and performing arts should be harnessed to help extend the increasingly unpalatable and urgent messages of global climate change science to a lay audience worldwide. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Source of Publication: | Ecology and Society, 17(2), p. 1-15 | Publisher: | Resilience Alliance Publications | Place of Publication: | Canada | ISSN: | 1708-3087 | Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 160899 Sociology not elsewhere classified 160802 Environmental Sociology 170113 Social and Community Psychology |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 441099 Sociology not elsewhere classified 441002 Environmental sociology 420403 Psychosocial aspects of childbirth and perinatal mental health |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 960302 Climate Change Mitigation Strategies 950199 Arts and Leisure not elsewhere classified 850799 Energy Conservation and Efficiency not elsewhere classified |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 190301 Climate change mitigation strategies | Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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