{"id":36848,"date":"2023-01-24T03:13:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T04:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/?p=36848"},"modified":"2023-01-24T04:48:26","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T04:48:26","slug":"dr-anna-sophie-jurgens-walks-the-tightrope-between-pop-culture-and-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peymantaeidi.net\/stem-cell\/2023\/01\/24\/dr-anna-sophie-jurgens-walks-the-tightrope-between-pop-culture-and-science\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Anna-Sophie J\u00fcrgens walks the tightrope between pop culture and science"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jellyfish as circus animals, violent clowns, parasites in pop culture… With research topics like these you might not expect to find Dr Anna-Sophie J\u00fcrgens listed alongside scientists in the ANU College of the Science directory. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But from her colourful, poster-clad office at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS)<\/a> at ANU, Dr J\u00fcrgens explains that all her research is organised around a central scientific theme: specifically, how science interacts with pop culture.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMost people are not scientists, so where do they get their ideas?\u201d asks Dr J\u00fcrgens. \u201cComic books, animated films, TV, comedies, and blockbuster films. These are very powerful mediums to communicate the meaning of science, and ideas about the societal role of science.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As she chats, Dr J\u00fcrgens takes enthusiastic tangents and reaches for nearby books and printouts, and very soon you realise just how many ideas, collaborations and projects are swirling around in her brain and on her CV. In one breath, she\u2019ll tell you about the film series on science and art she\u2019s working on, a course she teaches on humour and science in culture and science communication, and a concept she\u2019s developing for interactive artworks on melting ice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before joining CPAS in 2020, Dr J\u00fcrgens was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the ANU Humanities Research Centre and the Freie Universit\u00e4t of Berlin. It was during this Fellowship that she particularly started to explore the relationship between performance, culture, and science.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was always interested in extreme characters in literature, and this includes artists, performers, and also mad scientists,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr J\u00fcrgens\u2019 sunny, warm personality contradicts with the darkness of many of the subjects she studies. Her office d\u00e9cor reflects these dichotomies: there\u2019s an ominous The Dark Knight<\/em> poster with the words \u201cWhy so serious?\u201d; an Einstein doll wearing a party hat; AI-created images of futuristic circus jellyfish; and a row of iridescent faux aquatic plants. Artificial and natural; light and dark; yin and yang. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One giant in fiction whom Dr J\u00fcrgens has closely studied is the Joker<\/a>. The notorious Batman<\/em> villain has an affinity for science and technology throughout the many comics and films he\u2019s portrayed in, concocting noxious chemicals, for example, or releasing pathogens to infect victims.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Through the lens of the Joker, Dr J\u00fcrgens analyses how these scientific concepts connect with our own lives and society. People are drawn to characters like the Joker, she says, because horror sells and excites our imagination<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our pop culture, one of the major horror narratives is one of a looming technopocalypse,\u201d Dr J\u00fcrgens says. This is a theme where robots, artificial intelligence, bionics, nanotechnology or any other scientific development take over, and it results in the fall of civilisation. The technopocalypse idea explores people\u2019s fears and feelings about our possible futures and science. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut we’ve also approached science through humour and comedy \u2212 and the stories we tell about our comic<\/em> technological and scientific future are worth discovering,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The way that Dr J\u00fcrgens teaches and studies these research topics is deeply embedded in her roots in cultural studies and comparative literature. So, despite the centrality of scientific ideas, some of her research may come as a surprise to those with physical science backgrounds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr J\u00fcrgens has the \u201cbeautiful and challenging\u201d task of combining the two very different academic cultures of science and humanities. It\u2019s about being the translator who can speak both languages, she says. That\u2019s the upside of these unique topics: they intrigue us and can act as an entry point into unexplored spaces.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy intention is to expand our understanding, first of all, and ultimately to be involved in connecting with creators,\u201d Dr J\u00fcrgens says.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love what I’m doing,\u201d she reflects. \u201cIt gives me a lot of energy to explore these ideas and to build bridges between different seemingly unconnected spaces.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If <\/em>clown scientists, Joker Science and comic viruses<\/em> intrigue you, explore the <\/em>Popsicule: Science in Pop Culture and Entertainment Hub<\/em><\/a> website and consider studying Science Communication at ANU. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cover image: Circumjellicus flotillus 264 (2022). Orchestrated in MidJourney by TA.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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