Etmaal 2021 – Science Communication

Thursday 13:00 – 15:00

Chair: Julia Cramer, Evá Kalmár, Ini Vanwesenbeeck, Aart van Stekelenburg

The session will start with a short keynote by de. Marina Joubert, and will then continue with the presentations.

Spiky blobs with evil grins: Exploring the origins and meanings of novel coronavirus visualisations in newspaper cartoons

Dr Marina Joubert, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Hearing the word ‘coronavirus’ immediately conjures up a picture of a spherical object surrounded by a halo of protrusions. This mental image is formed and influenced by what we see in the mass media and may bear little resemblance to what the novel coronavirus ‘really’ looks in an electron micrograph. This research project explored how South African newspaper cartoonists portrayed the novel coronavirus during the first months of the pandemic in 202. It looked at the origins of virus visualisations, including a brief overview of historical milestones that paved the way for our current capabilities to image viruses. Dr Joubert will discuss the potential implications of these depictions, along with a consideration of the ways in which the cartoons commented on the socio-political and economic impact of the virus on South African society.

The schedule is as follows:

13.00-13.05: Introduction
13.05-13.30: Keynote by dr. Marina Joubert
13.30-13.40: Presentation by Sanne Kristensen
13.40-13.50: Presentation by Bettina Graupe
13.50-14.00: Break
14.00.14.10: Presentation by Michiel Jan Dirk Hooykaas
14.10-14.20: Presentation by J.F.E. van Calis
14.20-14.30: Presentation by Liselotte Rambonnet
14.30-14.40: Presentation by Robin Tschötschel
14.40-14.50: Presentation by Aart van Stekelenburg

Sanne Kristensen, Julia Cramer, Gudrun Reijnierse, Ionica Smeets Portrayal and framing of physics in Dutch newspapers
Bettina Graupe Inquiry into discursive struggles among natural and social scientists about developing and governing synthetic cells.
Michiel Jan Dirk Hooykaas, Antonia Katharina Aalders, Menno Schilthuizen, Ionica Smeets Animals in Fashion: Portrayal of Animal Biodiversity on Children’s Clothing
J.F.E. van Calis, K.E. Bevelander, J. Naaldenberg & G. Leusink Using Inclusive Science Communication to develop eHealth for People with an Intellectual Disability
Liselotte Rambonnet, Anne Land-Zandstra, Ionica Smeets Activistic motives drive citizen scientists to monitor plastic waste in the Clean Rivers project
Robin Tschötschel, Andreas Schuck, Alexandra Schwinges, Anke Wonneberger Immutable Gateways? The negligible effects of climate change consensus messages in Germany
Aart van Stekelenburg, Gabi Schaap, Harm Veling, Moniek Buijzen Investigating the accuracy of us citizens’ beliefs about the covid-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study with educational intervention