title: A mirror for science.
abstract: Early conceptions of the public understanding of science suffered from a narrow framing of what science means and a presumption that science is divided from its publics by walls of ignorance and indifference. Those assumptions amplified misunderstanding and led to faulty policies. It is time to reopen each element in the term "public understanding of science" to renewed reflection. This journal can advance that goal by encouraging research on actual rather than imagined public responses to science, on representations of science in the public sphere, and on interactions between science, technology and society.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University, USA.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jasanoff
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D006801:Humans; D011639:Public Opinion; D011640:Public Policy; D012586:Science / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: public understanding of science; representations of science