INTRODUCTION

In these final chapters the critical review of the traditional approach to studying the public understanding of science and technology comes full circle to center on the function of the politicohistorical context. It is an aspect that commanded particular attention in the first part of the book because of the metatheoretical question of the degree to which the history of the relation between science, society, and the public has shaped the public understanding of science and technology as an object of research. The political context as a space for public debate is considered again, but this time the purpose is to examine the way in which the public understanding of science and technology is articulated-that is, how the forums and forms of scientific and technological discussion work-and what it means for knowledge and the popularization of knowledge and trust.