From “Climate Sceptic” to “Dendro-Sociologist”: Considering the Role of Trust in the Communication of Science in Action

Abstract

Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars have historically struggled to convince their audiences that sociological accounts of scientific work are not a critique of science. Here I suggest that the challenge of communicating science in action should be understood as a problem of creating a community of knowledge with audiences outside STS. I draw upon my own research to investigate the role of trust in overcoming this communicative challenge. I present three social processes as an explanation of the simultaneous constitution of my contingent trust relations with a group of dendroclimatologists and STS knowledge. What emerges from my account is, therefore, an optimistic message for STS scholars regarding the role of trust in communicating science in action; to be sure, having trust bonds with our immediate scientific audiences does not generate immediate and complete communication but it cultivates greater tolerance and mutuality.