The Authority, Methods and Functions of Popular Science in the System of Sciences: Wilhelm Bölsche and Sexology

The factual ways by which knowledge travels from the public sphere into a specialized science or an academic discipline have yet to be explored. In this context, popular science is a crucial dynamic factor. The producers of popular science, the so-called popularizers, play a double role: From the perspective of the public, the poularizer acts as representative of the sciences. From the perspective of the specialized sciences, he is a spokesman on behalf of the public. this can be shown by an exemplary case study of one of the most important German popularizers of the late 19th an early 20th century, Wilhelm Bölsche, and his relation to the emergence of sexology as an academic discipline. Taking into account Bölsche's bestseller "Das Liebesleben in der Natur" and the works of early sexologists such as Iwan Bloch and Magnus Hirschfeld, the project aims to retrace the genesis and communication of terms and methods in a non-academic network. The project is part of the DFG-PAK 531 "Fachwissen und Öffentlichkeit: Expertise, Regulierungswissen, Populärwissenschaft" in cooperation with the Institute of Science and Technology Studies at Bielefeld University.