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Evaluating The Medias Representations Of Science And Technology With Focus On Female Scientists

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critically evaluating the medias representations of science and technology with focus on female scientists in Film. In order to set the scene for my case study it’s important to discuss and analyze how science is perceived in the media in relation to gender and what impact its having on society.

The representation of women in the fields of science in the media is controversial. My research examines how women scientists are represented film, I’ve decided to use this form of media because film has a huge effects on viewers and it can be a form of education, especially amongst the younger generations, If SET jobs aren’t represented correctly then adolescents may not be engaged enough to learn and get educated in this area. I’ll be …show more content…

There are 3 dimensions to understanding science’s dominant position in society. It’s important to recognize science’s position within knowledge and legitimacy to help me explore further into the representation of female scientists in film. Looking at the arguments of Bell “Scientists can identify with each other, and can help to police the boundaries of science by dismissing some people as pseudo-scientists, cranks or quacks” (Bell, 2006, p.21).

So what is knowledge? Technically its facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. David Goldblatt says, “knowledge can be held in the mind of individuals or it can be embodied in physical form”. (Goldblatt, 2000, p. 1) he goes on to list the three key elements that shape the social construction of knowledge that he explores, one being the role of language and discourse, second the role of institutions and thirdly the role of different types of social power (Goldblatt, 2000, p. 1). Scientific language is a powerful phenomenon; Goldblatt states that institutions have an important role in shaping society as “they determine, for example, who has access to specialised knowledge languages (like medical training) and who has socially sanctioned and legal authority to make pronouncements on a

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