Rethinking science communication: reflections on what happens when science meets comic art

Abstract

In this essay, we explore what happens when science meets comic art and how such meeting offers an opportunity to rethink science communication. We base our discussion on our own experience, as research scholars, of engaging in a collaboration with a comic artist. Three key reflections are developed: how comic art may help to (1) conceptualize ideas in an early research phase, (2) clarify the main argument by making the (un)written word visible; and (3) communicate science with an open end. These aspects contribute to an increased understanding of science communication in both research and society.

Communicating science through competing logics and a science-art lens

“…Informed by the challenges with communicating science we, two researchers and one comic artist and concept designer, were curious to explore how we could communicate science differently without playing too much by the rules of media jeopardizing the science logic [Jonsson & Grafström, 2021]. Our interest for comics is shared by an increasing number of actors -both researchers and comic artistswho in various ways elaborate with comics in science [for example see Farinella [2018], and Collver and Weitkamp [2018] and visit www.erccomics.com, www.jayhosler.com and www.cartoonscience.orgis for illustrative examples].…”

“…Our collaboration resulted not only in a method for science communication [Jonsson & Grafström, 2021], which we refer to as 'research comics', but also reflections on how to think of science communication and the meeting between science and art. In particular it made us reflect on the two logics, how they are understood as in conflict and if there could be a way to understand and encompass both perspectives and preferences.…”

“…By doing so we have noticed that we have not only attracted other peers but also other groups of readers. While the research comics for the essays in the edited volume were developed to mirror one or several messages -or provoked thoughts -to open up for discussions and to communicate with an open end [Jonsson & Grafström, 2021], these research comics have been developed to clarify the main message of the article. Some of these abstracts have adopted a silent and single panel format, whereas others have been developed as sequential and including words [McCloud, 1994] deepening on the choice of media.…”

“…Kahan, 2015]. In this essay, we build on our experiences of engaging in various forms for communicating science differently [Grafström & Jonsson, 2019 and for developing a method for how to communicate science through the meeting between science and art, and in particular comic art [Jonsson, 2020;Jonsson & Grafström, 2021]. During the collaboration with the comic artist a new understanding of science communication and how to (re-)think the well-known tension between the media logic and scientific logic has evolved.…”

“…The essay is structured accordingly: we introduce literature focusing on various trends that challenge, and at the same time create new conditions for, the scientist and the expert role and efforts to communicate science. Following our theoretical framing, we introduce and discuss the experiences from communicating science with a developed method as an example of a creative meeting between science and art [Jonsson & Grafström, 2021]. Building on previous literature on science communication and our reflections, we introduce a framework -a pedagogical tool -for how science communication can be understood, and communicated, through the two opposing logics.…”