Scientist Rebelling at the Climate Ministry
Unrestful Scientific Ethos at Scientist Rebellion’s Teach-in Demonstration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52610/rhs.v27i86.306Abstract
Scientists are increasingly turning to activism as a means to call for political action on the climate agenda. This article examines such a case: the first Nordic civil disobedience action carried out by the scientist social movement Scientist Rebellion in front of the Climate Ministry in Copenhagen in 2021. I focus on the media coverage of the demonstration to examine how scientific ethos is negotiated in activist practice. Through a reading of the scientist activists’ operationalization of place and movement rhetoric, I argue that it would be helpful to rethink dominant perspectives on scientific ethos in the climate and ecological crisis. The intersection between science and social movements highlights the need to understand ethos as unrestful rather than gradual and stable. Finally, I argue that a rhetorical-humanist approach to social movements can serve as a nuancing perspective to more deterministic theories of change.
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