The Perils, Politics, and Promises of Activist Science

Abstract

This paper considers “activist scientists”: those who become socially or politically active and transgress traditional scientific cultural norms of impartiality and neutrality. Such overt political positions are often connected to instances in which scientists bypass usual lines of scientific communication and popularization, and take research findings or expert opinions directly to the public. This paper examines the case of Andrew Weaver, a prominent Canadian climate scientist who has become an active proponent of climate change action, as well as a vociferous critic of the perceived inadequacy of government policy. His activism garnered him a significant amount of unflattering attention which ostensibly related to the appropriate scope of scientists’ activities. Historical reflections on the relationship between ecology and the environmental movement suggests that such activism is typically tied to “crisis situations,” which often lead to major boundary reworkings regarding the proper role of science. Such boundary reworkings present an opportunity to consider the ways that scientists imagine their own identities and how these compare to public expectations of scientists, as well as challenge certain STS conceptions of expertise.