Written Communication Jul 1998

Accommodating Science

JEANNE FAHNESTOCK

Abstract

Commentary: When this essay first appeared more than 10 years ago, it built on a small but substantial body of scholarship that declared scientific writing an appropriate field for rhetorical analysis. In the last 10 years, studies of scientific writing for both expert and lay audiences have increased exponentially, drawing on the long-established disciplines of the history and philosophy of science. These newer studies, however, differ widely in approach. Many take the perspective of cultural critique (e.g., the work of Bruno Latour and Stephen Woolgar), whereas others use the tools of discourse analysis (e.g., Greg Myers, M.A.K. Halliday, and J. R. Martin). But, application of rhetorical theory also thrives in the work of John Angus Campbell, Alan Gross, Charles Bazerman, Jean Dietz Moss, Lawrence J. Prelli, Carolyn Miller, and many others. Randy Allen Harris offers a useful introduction to this field in Landmark Essays on Rhetoric in Science (1997). “Accommodating Science” applies ideas from classical rhetoric and techniques of close reading typical of discourse analysis to the question of what happens when scientific reports travel from expert to lay publications. This change in forum causes a shift in genre from forensic to celebratory and a shift in stasis from fact and cause to evaluation and action. These changes in genre, audience, and purpose inevitably affect the material and manner of re-presentation in predictable ways. Two concerns informed this study 10 years ago: the impact of science reporting on public deliberation and the nature of technical and professional writing courses. These concerns have, if anything, increased (e.g., the campaign on global warming), warranting continued scholarly investigation of the gap between the public's right to know and the public's ability to understand.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1998-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088398015003006
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical theory discourse analysis writing across the curriculum professional writing scientific writing multilingual writers affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (18)

  1. Skinner (2024)
    Theorizing Reception: Antoinette Brown Blackwell’s Response to Evolutionary Theory
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  3. Doody (2024)
    Navigating Genres in Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Doctoral Programs
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  4. Moriarty et al. (2024)
    Reddit and Engaged Science Communication Online: An Examination of Reddit’s R/S…
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  5. DeTora (2023)
    Deciphering Nested Literacies: A Case Study of <i>Allosaurus Fragilis</i> at th…
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  1. Pollak (2021)
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  2. Durá et al. (2019)
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  3. Gruber (2017)
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  4. Szymanski (2016)
    Constructing Relationships Between Science and Practice in the Written Science …
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  5. Luzón (2013)
    Public Communication of Science in Blogs
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  6. Ross (2013)
    Common Topics and Commonplaces of Environmental Rhetoric
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  7. Jack et al. (2010)
    “This is Your Brain on Rhetoric”: Research Directions for Neurorhetorics
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  8. Tebeaux et al. (2010)
    Book Reviews: Professional Communication in Engineering, the Internet Imaginair…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. Tebeaux et al. (2009)
    Book Reviews: Together with Technology: Writing Review, Enculturation and Techn…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  10. Northcut (2007)
    The Relevance of Feenberg's Critical Theory of Technology to Critical Visual Li…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  11. Dyehouse (2007)
    Knowledge Consolidation Analysis
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  12. Charney (2003)
    Lone Geniuses in Popular Science
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  13. Kopple (2002)
    From the Dynamic Style to the Synoptic Style in Spectroscopic Articles in the P…
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (1)

  1. MYERS (1985)
    The Social Construction of Two Biologists' Proposals
    Written Communication
Also cites 11 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 56 View in citation network →

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