Background

Power pylons, microwaves, mobile phones or "electrosmog" - we often hear discussions about the potential dangers that could emanate from electromagnetic radiation. Did such concerns exist in the past? How old are these concerns and who raised them? Little or nothing is known about this, even among experts.

Objective

The project aims to find out who has expressed concerns about artificial electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields (EMF) in Germany (and its predecessor states) since the founding of the German Empire and the beginning of the German nation state in 1871 and why. The focus is primarily on the social and (pseudo-)scientific criticism of the technological expansion of infrastructure in connection with electromagnetic fields. The aim is to gain a better understanding of how the debate on these issues arose and developed. As a result, empirical and systematic insights will be gained into the structure, function and dynamics of the discourse and, based on this, recommendations for risk communication at the BfS will be developed.

Realisation

The project analyses the period of the past 150 years. During this period, the influence of technology on our lives has grown: while electrical engineering was still in its infancy 150 years ago, today electronic devices are omnipresent and it is hard to imagine everyday life without them.

Technological changes were perceived differently in society and the benefits and risks were sometimes the subject of controversial debate. In addition, the structures of language, science and knowledge have changed massively. Many concepts, world views, accepted ways of reasoning, the state of science and technology, as well as the knowledge available in society are structured completely differently today than they were 150 years ago.

This change is accompanied by new possibilities for discourse - new public spheres, new practices of criticism, changed social perceptions of such criticism. All of this requires a context-sensitive investigation that brings in insights from various historical approaches (technology, economics, politics, environment, culture, law and society).

The project uses a method that takes into account both the language and the positions of the actors who comment on electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields. It analyses how the discussion fits into the respective time context. An explorative approach is chosen for this study, as it ventures into previously little-researched territory.

Firstly, the state of the art in science and technology is identified on the basis of secondary literature. In a further step, archive materials are researched in government, scientific and civil society archives, among others. The archives of companies and business organisations are also taken into account. The aim is to gain empirical and systematic insights into the structure, function and dynamics of criticism of the technological expansion of infrastructure in connection with electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields over a period of more than 150 years.

A historical discourse analysis is chosen as the methodological approach. It comprises five different levels:

1. the (linguistic) structure, i.e. the "order of the discourse", consisting of certain terms, conceptual contexts and argumentation patterns (topoi), frames and narratives;

2. a stakeholder analysis to identify the key stakeholders or stakeholder groups and their different roles;

3. the determination of any economic, political or legal-regulatory consequences of the discourse on electromagnetic fields;

4. the connection between arguments and actors over time: Can fixed patterns of argumentation be attributed to the actors or how did positions develop over time?

5. the relationship between expert and lay knowledge in the course of the discourse: Which actors trust scientific and technical knowledge, and which are sceptical about new technologies and the uncertainties often associated with them?

The results should help the BfS to better categorise the current dynamics of the social discourse on possible risks of electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields historically and thus to better shape current risk communication.