1. Analysing the construct ‘geoengineering on Wikipedia’ Nils Markusson CEC14, Berlin, Aug 2014

2. intro Definitions and classifications are fluid and contested How to study their construction in public discourse? Wikipedia offers an opportunity –Highly public (few-to-many) –Topology (linked labels) ideal for this question –Heterogeneous, contextualised, longitudinal

3. methods Collaboration with researchers in Paris and Barcelona Dataset 1: geoengineering in climate change network Dataset 2: context and structure – Selected 34 start articles, followed in and out links, resulted in a set of 1155 articles Dataset 3: history – Manually looked into history of the 34 geoengineering related Wikipedia pages, including both content and links Data collected June 2013

4. >> CC network

7. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Terraforming Planetary engineering Geoengineering Article with main GE topic Geoengineering; space sunshade; cloud seeding Initiation of relevant articles Afforestation Biochar; iron fertilisation (25% of current g.e. articles initiated after 2010) (40% of current g.e. articles initiated Dec 2008-2009) 2002 Reforestation

8. results two groups: ‘core’ and ‘land-based’ ‘Core’: main article, SRM, OF, WM… ‘Land-based’: BECCS, biochar… (varies by resolution) Weakly connected, competing different contexts -Core ↔ science; Land-based ↔ technology -Core far from climate policy -A few military categories roots include terraforming and planetary engineering

9. resists the seductive simplicity of stated definitions and classifications and makes visible informal aspects of discursive practice resists tendencies towards decontextualized and ahistorical presentation in the discourse on geoengineering can usefully be contrasted with the de facto definitions and classifications resistance of the medium

10. visualisation Lists, diagrams, networks Network graphs (gephi) crucial – Analysis and interpretation – Overview, complexity, zooming – Fits with the fluidity of de facto definitions

11. See also: “Bounding boundaries: The construction of geoengineering on Wikipedia”, N. Markusson, A. Kaltenbrunner, D. Laniado, T. Venturini http://www.geoengineering-governance-research.org/cgg-working- papers.php thank you!