TALK 1 (hybrid)

Citizen science communication in polarized debates
by Dr phil Andressa Cristinne Arrelias Costa (KIT-ITZ, Department for Science Communication)

Scientific topics such as gender issues, climate change and vaccination often become focal points in emotionally charged social debates where compromise seems impossible. As science communicators face the challenge of navigating these polarised environments, it is important to understand how polarisation works linguistically and how citizen science communicators can address it.
Drawing on insights from the BMBF-funded KoKoKom project (Arguing about Sex and Gender. Conflict and Consensus as challenges for Science Communication), this talk will explore the rhetorical mechanisms that drive and polarisation. It highlights strategies of simplification, exaggeration and provocation, along with their specific linguistic indicators. Using examples from the German public debate on sex and gender, the presentation illustrates how polarising communication sounds in practice.
It then outlines eight evidence-based depolarisation strategies, ranging from avoiding in- and out-grouping and seeking common ground, to sharing personal narratives and setting clear boundaries. The session concludes with a reflective communication analysis, encouraging participants to consider the possibilities of polarisation in their citizen science projects and share experiences of navigating controversial topics in public science engagement.

Andressa Costa is a linguist and a research fellow in the Department of Science Communication.
As part of the KoKoKom project (https://kokokom.de/), she investigates polarisation and common ground in online gender debates.

TALK 2 (hybrid)

Communication and Interaction with Citizens in Participatory Projects
by Anna Schmidt-Fiedler (Adam Mickiewicz University)