Science, bread, and circuses : folkloristic essays on science for the masses / Gregory Schrempp.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schrempp, Gregory Allen, 1950- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science in popular culture.

Folklore.

Legends.

Mythology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (178 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colorado : Utah State University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In Science, Bread, and Circuses, Gregory Schrempp brings a folkloristic slant to the topic of popular science, calling attention to the persistence of folkloric form, idiom, and worldview within the increasingly important dimension of popular consciousness defined by the impact of science. Schrempp considers specific examples of texts in which science writers employ folkloric tropes--myths, legends, proverbs, or a variety of gestures from religious tradition--to lend authority or credibility to their message. In each essay he explores an instance of science popularization rooted in the quotidian round: variations of folkloric formulae in monumental measurements, invocations of science-heroes like saints or other inspirational figures, the battle of mythos and logo in parenting and academe; how the meme has become embroiled in quasi-religious treatments of the problem of evil, and a range of other tropes of folklore drafted into the service of exposition of scientific topics. Science, Bread, and Circuses places the relationship of science and folklore is at the very center of folkloristic inquiry in an attempt to rephrase and thus domesticate scientific findings and claims in folklorically-imbued popular forms"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1. Formulas of Conversion: A Proverbial Approach to Astronomic Magnitudes; Chapter 2. Leonardo and Copernicus at Aspen: How Science Heroes Can Improve Your Bottom Line; Chapter 3. Opening the Two Totes: Mythos and Logos in the Contemporary Agora-sphere; Chapter 4. Taking the Dawkins Challenge: On Fairy Tales, Viruses, and the Dark Side of the Meme; Chapter 5. The Biggest Losers: A Sensible Plan for Controlling Your Cosmic Appetite; Chapter 6. It's a Wonderfully Conflicted Life! : The Survival of Mythology in the Capra-Corn Cosmos

Chapter 7. Departures from Earth I: The Ferris Wheel and the Deep-Space ProbeChapter 8. Departures from Earth II: The Reason(s) for the Tragedy of Space Shuttle Columbia; Chapter 9. "Goodbye Spoony Juney Moon": A Mythological Reading of Tom Stoppard's Jumpers; Chapter 10. Is Lucretius a God? : Epic, Science, and Prescience in De Rerum Natura; References; Filmography; About the Author; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780874219708

0874219701

OCLC:

893010155