Communicating Science and Technology

Abstract

By focusing on the books of popularization of science and technology published byGradiva this research aims at understanding the mechanisms and strategies to bring scienceand technology to a broader audience in Portugal, after 1974, the year of the CarnationRevolution that put an end to a long half century dictatorship. I use a mix conceptualframework: on the one hand, I use the scientific literacy and public understanding ofscience and technology main references to explore the public’s behavior and opinionconcerning scientific and technological knowledge; on the other hand, I analyze Gradiva’schoices concerning the collections aimed at popularizing science and technology. So, Ihope to contribute to map the perception of the Portuguese public about techno-scientificthemes that influence their life and decisions, to understand how scientists relate toscientific and technological popularization literature and to assess scientific literacy in thePortuguese population