The dynamics of metaphors in the communication of biotechnology

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Project objective

In Europe, medical biotechnology is constantly metaphorised as breakthroughs" that reveal 'the secrets of life" while agricultural biotechnology is often labeled as "Frankenfoods ". These metaphors are circulated in the mass media, but also in the sciences, politics, economics, administration and every day conversations. Metaphors guide the dynamics of communications, and therefore metaphor analysis provides tools for understanding the complexity of communications, and to clarify the grounds on which current and future European debates on biotechnology can be established. The project analyses the European discussions about medical and agricultural biotechnology both quantitatively and qualitatively from a dynamic perspective, and uses metaphors as analytical tools of tracing the mechanisms communication between scientific, social scientific, public, and journalistic discourses. The data is collected from the Internet, Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index and on-line archives of four European newspapers. The research question is : "How do metaphors enable us to bridge the gap between the sciences and the social sciences as well as between the sciences and the public?""

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Participants

• UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM · AMSTERDAMCoordinatorNetherlands

Links

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