Policy Press

Public Engagement and Social Science

Edited by Stella Maile and David Griffiths

Published

May 21, 2014

Page count

256 pages

ISBN

978-1447306863

Dimensions

234 x 156 mm

Imprint

Policy Press
Public Engagement and Social Science

This original edited collection explores the value of public engagement in a wider social science context. Its main themes range from the dialogic character of social science to the pragmatic responses to the managerial policies underpinning the restructuring of Higher Education. The book is organised in three parts: the first encourages the reader to reflect upon the different social and political inflections of public engagement and offers one university example of a social science café in Bristol. The following sections are based upon talks given in the café and are linked by a concern with public engagement and the contribution of social science to a reflexive understanding of the dilemmas and practices of daily life. This highly topical book will be of interest to academics, practitioners and students interested in critical social issues as they impact on their everyday lives.

Dr Stella Maile is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health and Applied Social Sciences and convener of Social Science in the City at the University of the West of England (UWE).

Dr David Griffiths is Associate Lecturer at The Open University in the South West. He is currently researching lifestyle migration amongst Britons living in Berlin.

INTRODUCTION ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths;

PART ONE: The meaning of public engagement;

Introduction to Part One ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths;

Café scientifique and the art of engaging publics ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths;

Social Science in the City™: reflections on public engagement ~ Stella Maile;

PART TWO: Public engagement in practice;

Introduction to Part Two ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths;

'Grab and go': some sociological musings on the 2011 'disturbances' ~ Steve Hunt;

1976 – the moral necessity of austerity ~ Matthew Clement;

The Occupy movement ~ Samantha Fletcher;

'Brave new world': how will the government respond to the social care challenge of an ageing population? ~ Robin Means;

Road wars: contesting paradigms of road safety, public space and well-being ~ Richard Kimberlee;

Restorative justice, community action and public protection ~ Kieran McCartan and Nikki McKenzie;

Chew ’em up or throw ’em up? Disorganised responses to interpersonal(ity) disorder and social disease ~ Christopher Scanlon and John Adlam;

Resilience ~ Paul Hoggett;

PART THREE: Applying Social Science in the City™ and beyond;

Introduction to Part Three ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths;

Social science and severely troubled children – working in partnership, working in and on relationship ~ Anne-Marie Cummins and Jem Thomas;

The professional impact of Social Science in the City™ ~ Tansy Clark;

Sharing worlds: managing complex community relationships in challenging times ~ Hen Wilkinson;

Talking about personal experience and its relationship to social inequality across the generations ~ Amanda Radix;

Social Research, community engagement and learning through partnerships: a collaborative project ~ Stella Maile, with Grace Aciro, Bethany Addicott, Laylee Arfsarpour, Joe Fitt, Georgia Leonard, Michael Nash and Annabelle Wilson;

A student’s reflections on engaging in social science;

CONCLUSIONS Managing public engagement ~ Stella Maile and David Griffiths.