Shifts+in+Sign+Systems+EF

I am not quite sure why, but trying to pinpoint critical discursive shifts around my object of concern has proven a difficult task for me. It may possibly be due to my nebulous state in pinning down EXACTLY what my object of concern is…I feel as though it changes from one week to the next. Due to this I am going to list all the entities I have identified as possible objects of concern and then go from there.


 * Makerspaces
 * Making as culture
 * STEM education practices
 * Critical Making and Participatory Design practices
 * Sites of scientific engagement with the public
 * On-line Citizen Science Communities

There seems to be a shift within the way the scientific community and the public interact, but not on a large scale. In this sense, things are moving to a more hands-on approach for the public exploration of science, and a greater involvement by the public, but to what end? There is definitely a shift within the realm of museums where displays have gone from observational to highly interactive and malleable. You can guide yourself through various narratives and chose categories to explore on digital menus, yet this is still within a rigid framework. This possibly gives the illusion of manipulation and involvement/engagement, when really it is preplanned and linear. When the displays ask you a question about what you are seeing, they are looking for a specific answer.

There is further interactivity, yet “scientific literacy” is down, and within this landscape emerges maker culture and a valorizing of the nerd who tinkers. There has certainly been a social shift in the categorization of science as untouchable or far removed. Science now has a cool factor and it is possibly more reachable, yet that cool factor continues ideas of a selective elite club of scientific inquiry. Lay people doing scientific surveys are still questioned their methods and their lack of rigorous science education.

Yet, it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged for lay-people and citizen groups (makerspaces) to work on “cool” engineering projects which have a wow factor. This certainly seems to be a discursive shift, and now possibly the next discursive shift could be bringing critical practices into those spaces.