Problematizing GM technology in India: exploring the communications role of Indian scientists in the Bt-Brinjal controversy

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dc.contributor.advisorEinsiedel, Edna
dc.contributor.authorRitika, Ritika
dc.contributor.committeememberJohnston, Dawn
dc.contributor.committeememberKeller, Jessalynn
dc.date2018-06
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-13T00:08:13Z
dc.date.available2018-01-13T00:08:13Z
dc.date.issued2017-12-18
dc.description.abstractWhile most research in science communication has focused on media coverage and public understandings of scientific controversies in the past, less attention has been directed to the role of scientists in the public communication of such controversies. In my thesis, I address this gap in the literature by investigating the role of the Indian scientists in the controversial case of Bt- Brinjal−the first genetically modified eggplant in India that was approved for commercial distribution in 2009, but was subjected to a moratorium in 2010 as a result of the ensuing controversy, a status which remains to the present. I particularly focus on the ways by which the Indian scientists communicated the issue by implicating the discursive practices around the identification of problem and their reinterpretations in the public sphere. I specifically draw upon the Foucauldian concept of ‘problematization’ which proposes examining how an idea becomes interpreted as problematic in particular ways. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA), I compare the content of the diverse media platforms in a qualitative analysis to investigate how the Indian scientists classified, framed, questioned and analyzed Bt-Brinjal as a social problem or opportunity. I conclude that the forms of extended participation in the public arena on policy controversies via an extended range of media platforms offer a perspective on ‘deviation’ from scientists’ normal science communication practices that are illustrative of post-normal science conditions.en_US
dc.identifier.citationRitika,R. (2017). Problematizing GM technology in India: exploring the communications role of Indian scientists in the Bt-Brinjal controversy (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/5249
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/106251
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArtsen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectBt-Brinjalen_US
dc.subjectpost normal scienceen_US
dc.subjectproblematizationen_US
dc.subjectPublic communication of scienceen_US
dc.subjectGMOsen_US
dc.subjectBiotechnologyen_US
dc.subjectdeviationsen_US
dc.subject.classificationMass Communicationsen_US
dc.subject.classificationEducation--Social Sciencesen_US
dc.subject.classificationPolitical Scienceen_US
dc.titleProblematizing GM technology in India: exploring the communications role of Indian scientists in the Bt-Brinjal controversyen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunication and Media Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
ucalgary.thesis.checklistI confirm that I have submitted all of the required forms to Faculty of Graduate Studies.en_US
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