Contesting science by appealing to its norms: readers discuss climate science in the Daily Mail

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte; Koteyko, Nelya

Abstract

This study examines the rhetorical aspects of social contestation of climate change in reader comments published in the Daily Mail, subsequent to climategate. The following themes are reported: (1) denigration of climate scientists to contest hegemonic representations, (2) delegitimization of pro–climate change individuals by disassociation from science, and (3) outright denial: rejecting hegemonic social representations of climate change. The study outlines the discursive strategies employed in order to construct social representations of climate change, to contest alternative representations, and to convince others of the validity of these representations.It examines how social representations of science are formed, maintained,and disseminated.

Citation

Jaspal, R., Nerlich, B., & Koteyko, N. (2013). Contesting science by appealing to its norms: readers discuss climate science in the Daily Mail. Science Communication, 35(3), https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547012459274

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 27, 2014
• Journal: Science Communication
• Print ISSN: 1075-5470
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-8545
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547012459274
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1004586
• Publisher URL: http://scx.sagepub.com/content/35/3/383.abstract
• Related Public URLs: http://scx.sagepub.com/content/35/3/383.full.pdf+html