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The fictionalized reader in popular science: reader engagement with the scientific community

  • Olga A. Pilkington

    Olga A. Pilkington received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research interests include popular science writing and laboratory literature. Her most recent book-length publication is Presented Discourse in Popular Science: Professional Voices in Books for Lay Audiences (2018, Brill).

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Published/Copyright: October 30, 2018

Abstract

I propose that the fictionalized reader as observed in popular science represents a novel approach to the incorporation of a reader into a non-fiction text. The traditional approach relies on “the reader-in-the-text” – an entity that covertly represents a generalized real reader through author’s voice using evaluation, modalization, concession, and mood among other mechanisms. The findings are based on a comparative analysis of a corpus of 193 occurrences of presented discourse of scientists (extracted from 100 narratives of discovery) and 73 occurrences of presented discourse attributed to the reader (observed outside the narratives). The analysis shows that the fictionalized reader uses presented discourse (speech and thoughts assigned to the reader) to shape a reader-character, who represents a singular individual (as opposed to a generalized audience) with whom a reader can relate. The need for a more concrete reader arises in thought experiments commonly used as explanatory devices in popular science. The fictionalized reader helps popular science authors explain scientific concepts in more engaging terms and contributes to a more interactive and inclusive model of popularization.

About the author

Olga A. Pilkington

Olga A. Pilkington received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. Her research interests include popular science writing and laboratory literature. Her most recent book-length publication is Presented Discourse in Popular Science: Professional Voices in Books for Lay Audiences (2018, Brill).

Appendix: books used to collect the data

Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, 2003.

William Bynum, A Little History of Science, 2012.

Sean Carrol, The Particle at the End of the Universe, 2012.

Enrico Coen, Cells to Civilization, 2012.

Marcus du Sautoy, The Number Mysteries, 2011.

Timothy Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, 1988.

Brian Greene, The Hidden Reality, 2011.

Michio Kaku, Physics of the Future, 2011.

Sam Kean, The Violinist’s Thumb, 2012.

Carl Zimmer, A Planet of Viruses, 2011.

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Published Online: 2018-10-30
Published in Print: 2018-11-27

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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