Science Popularisation as Cultural Diplomacy in Cold War UNESCO (1946-1958)

Science Popularization as Cultural Diplomacy in Cold War UNESCO (1946–1958) highlights how, after World War II, science became a crucial tool in the reestablishment of international relations, but, at the same time, an open battlefield in which different nations and ideologies struggled for hegemony.

This book explores for the first time, the international science popularization programmes at UNESCO (1946–1958) as cultural diplomacy – that is, as cultural instruments aimed at promoting certain views of science to shape international relations. Through the historical reconstruction of UNESCO’s science popularization policies and practices in its early years, this collective volume analyses in depth the ambiguous diplomatic nature of science, places science popularization in the broader history of the cultural Cold War and unveils its profound political nature. It provides a fresh historiographic perspective on science popularization in its international and diplomatic dimension, as well as food for thought on the political role of science in the past, but also in our troubled present.

Science Popularization as Cultural Diplomacy in Cold War UNESCO (1946–1958) would appeal to students, scholars and historians – of science, politics or diplomacy – science communicators and all those interested in the international dimension of science.

Andrée Bergeron is Associate Professor of History of Science at the Centre Alexandre-Koyré (EHESS-CNRS-MNHN) in Paris. Her research focuses on the articulation between science, culture and politics. She has recently coordinated with Charlotte Bigg a collective volume Les Sciences et leurs Mises en Scène (19e-21e) (forthcoming).

Agustí Nieto-Galan is Professor of History of Science at the Institut d’Història de la Ciència of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and ICREA Acadèmia Fellow. His research focuses on the relation between science and politics in the twentieth century, in particular on the role of refugee scholars and activists in the production of new knowledge.

Jaume Sastre-Juan is Serra-Húnter Professor at the Institut d’Història de la Ciència of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His research focuses on the intersection between politics and the popularization of science and technology. He has published on the history of “interactivity” in science museums, on technological fun in amusement parks and on the banalization of nuclear technologies through display.