The Humanist Scholar as Public Expert

Written Communication Apr 2006

Christopher Eisenhart

Abstract

Although the rhetoric of expertise stemming from the hard and social sciences has been well researched, the scholarship has not tended to focus on acts of public expertise by scholars from the humanities. This article reports a case study in the rhetorical practices of a theologian, acting as a public expert, first attempting to affect decision making in the Waco conflict in 1993 and then attempting to participate in and shape the public debates that followed it. To compare the practices of this humanities scholar to expectations from research on the rhetoric of expertise, a rhetorical analysis was conducted on the context, style, genre, and argument in the scholar’s public writings. This article discusses (a) the role of kairos in the policy cycle in determining the scholar’s bids for acceptance as an expert, (b) the use of narrative as a generic hybrid of intra- and interdisciplinary practice, and (c) the role of “understanding” asa special topic.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 2006-04-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088306286392
Topics: writing across the curriculum qualitative research multilingual writers voice and style argument affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

Cramer (2015)

Stasis Four for Literate Jurisdictions: Writing for an Art World Referee

Rhetoric Review

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Written Communication
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Written Communication

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