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Distributed for Dartmouth College Press

Visual Cultures of Science

Rethinking Representational Practices in Knowledge Building and Science Communication

Distributed for Dartmouth College Press

Visual Cultures of Science

Rethinking Representational Practices in Knowledge Building and Science Communication

Issues of representation affect every aspect of scientific activity, from the encoding, display, analysis, and presentation of data to the communication of scientific concepts and information to students and the general public. The essays in this collection explore the issues involved in the creation and deployment of visual representations in both the natural and the social sciences. Visual Cultures of Science offers a mix of theoretical analyses and revealing case studies. The latter address such topics as the technologies of visualization (from X-ray machines to films made by anthropologists), the persuasive power of the graphic presentation of data (including a critique of the work of Edward Tufte), and the distillation of data into pedagogical representations such as scientific wall charts for classroom use. With its useful mix of theory and case study, the book addresses both abstract and practical issues of representation, as well as demonstrating the importance of recognizing historicized perspectives in addressing issues of representation. These essays, by many of the field’s leading minds today, offer solid research and new information pertaining to the methods, purposes, and implications of scientific visual culture.

328 pages | 6 x 9

Biological Sciences: Natural History


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Table of Contents

Introduction: The Role of Visual Representation in the Production of Scientific Reality • A Theoretical Framework for Assessing Visual Representational Practices in Knowledge Building and Science Communications - Luc Pauwels • The Production of Scientific Images: Vision and Re-Vision in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science - Michael Lynch • Representing or Mediating: A History and Philosophy of X-ray Images in Medicine - Bernike Pasveer • The Accursed Part of Scientific Iconography - Francesco Panese • Images of Science in the Classroom: Wall Charts and Science Education, 1850–1920 - Massimiano Bucchi • Representing Moving Cultures: Expression, Multivocality, and Reflexivity in Anthropological and Sociological Filmmaking - Luc Pauwels • Arguing with Images: Pauling’s Theory of Antibody Formation - Alberto Cambrosio, Daniel Jacobi, and Peter Keating • Discipline and the Material Form of Images: An Analysis of Scientific Visibility - Michael Lynch • Edward Tufte and the Promise of a Visual Social Science - John Grady • Making Science Visible: Visual Literacy in Science Communication - Jean Trumbo • Contributors • Index

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