Delineating+a+Project+EF+2

Research on the intention within different regimes of 'making,' particularly when considering scientific engagement of the public and exploring what it might mean to introduce critical-consciousness and more critical-making practices in these regimes.

1. (Discourse of Making) There is a current trend of making and hands-on physicality that seems antithetical to the movement toward the virtual. What are the implications for this resurgence of “Making” and a focus on the material in the increasingly digital age? Is this a back lash to digital technology, or is it a parallel progression that coincides with the availability of helpful information and instructions online to foster the making movement? This theory could possibly be explained by such online skill-sharing communities as Instructables.com. What do physical making versus digital information practices mean in terms of embodiment and how does a need of space (virtual or physical) play into these issues? How do cultures of 'making' help in self-definition and can they also be considered communal practices? This work is seeking to explore the different communities built around various media of public engagement. Again the digital versus the real-world scenario comes up as an issue. Is there more community building and engagement through makerspaces that have a physical location and space out of which to work? Or is the online community of makers as efficacious of a community via skill-sharing and attention to the issues at hand? Possibly there is not such a difference between the online or physical communities?

2. (Possibilities for an emerging Technological Citizenship) In considering the future, I will explore critical-making and how technical practices of the “maker” could follow a route that does not solely lead toward military robotics or the "cool" factor mentatlity. In this sense, making could be more in tune and reflective of the needs of local communities and an important resource for aiding the public in day-to-day life, thus working toward an involved Technological Citizenship. Is this something to work toward within the maker movement, and how might this mentality scale up from the local to generatively affect macro/global communities? An important aspect to explore in this section is the visibility and inclusiveness of these groups, the amount of people they reach out to, and their visibility to the greater public, global sphere. What types of lay expertise are considered important or valid in these contexts, and are certain individuals or communities excluded from these practices?

3. (Historicizing shifts within Scientific Public Engagement) Public engagement within the sciences has a long history and is no recent phenomenon. As there is a shift from the phsycial/material world to the virtual in terms of information-sharing and communication, is there a drastic change within the discourse of public engagement? Does there seem to be a trend toward more or less engagement and more or less diversity among the engaged communities? Beyond This section focuses on the historical trajectory of public engagement to help inform where it stands now. This includes looking at museums and their evolving displays of scientific information as well as how scientific information is transmitted on-line, in the classroom, and in skill-sharing communities. This exploration poses questions regarding the efficacious nature of science engagement with the public, particularly in the socially critical and participatory sense.