Resonating with physics: physics students’ stories about existential and affective relations to science in and beyond formal learning spaces

In this paper, we seek to contribute to understandings about how physics allows reflection on what it means to be human. Drawing on life-history interviews with three university physics students, we explore the affective and existential aspects of engagement in physics, with attention to experiences from informal and formal science spaces. With Hartmut Rosa’s conceptualization of resonance, we show how (intertwined and parallel) relations to physics–as a superstructure, science materials, and people via science–can provide meaningful connections to the world and oneself. The students, all of whom had undertaken adult education, had enrolled in university physics for reasons of awe, joy, and, also, serenity in hardship. Though reiterating common understandings of physics as an ‘objective’ and ‘challenging’ subject, the interviewees described their engagement in physics as salutogenic. Physics provided existential meaning and well-being; e.g. its epistemic character of boundaries and beauty offered stability in precarious life situations. Our study shows how science can be important for (i) reshaping one’s worldview and self-understanding, (ii) fostering meaningful relationships, and (iii) enhancing well-being. We conclude that to cultivate engagement in science, education should prioritize creating meaningful, respectful learning spaces that support students in forming a diverse range of resonant science-related relationships.