Introduction: “Writing Science for New Readers, with New Technologies, in New Genres”

Perrault, S. (2013). Communicating Popular Science: From Deficit to Democracy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Emphasizes scientists’ recognizing the need for respect for all audiences and their importance in debating scientific issues. Critiques science “boosterism” and the uncritical acceptance of what science proclaims.

Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory Life: The Social Construction of Scientific Facts. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

Refutes the idea of “objectivity” by working scientists through the authors’ close analysis of how scientific practice and discourse are shaped by social forces in the scientific community. Demonstrates the difficulty of scientists’ understanding and relating to the needs and discourses of non-scientists.

Bazerman, C. (1988). Shaping written knowledge: The genre and activity of the experimental article in science. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press. http://wac.colostate.edu/books/bazerman_shaping/shaping.pdf

This book is particularly valuable for its historical analysis of the continuing evolution of the experimental article as rhetorical needs and practices evolve.