https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211006685
Science Communication
1–22
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/10755470211006685
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Original Research
Strategic Place-Making
and Public Scientific
Outreach in the
American Chemical
Society’s National
Historic Chemical
Landmarks Program
Benjamin W. Mann
1
, Madison A. Krall
2
,
Melissa M. Parks
3
, Emily Krebs
2
, Kourtney Maison
2
,
and Robin E. Jensen
2
Abstract
This article investigates place-making—a process involving appeals
to embodiment, materiality, and spatial arrangement—as a means
for building communicative relationships between technical scientific
communities and lay publics. Drawing from discourses related to the
National Historic Chemical Landmark Program’s 89 landmarks, we
illustrate how the National Historic Chemical Landmark Program builds
different types of relationships with nonexperts via the utilization of
place as (a) narrative framing device, (b) proprietor, and (c) gatekeeper.
These findings reveal the ways in which specific strategic place-making
gestures can support more or less public engagement in the processes of
scientific work and outreach.
1
Dixie State University, St. George, UT, USA
2
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
3
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Benjamin W. Mann, Dixie State University, 225 S 700 East, St. George, UT 84770, USA.
Email: benjamin.mann@dixie.edu
1006685SCX XX X 10.1177/10755470211006685Science CommunicationMann et al.
research-article 2021