Abstract

Interdisciplinary research is often described as the recasting of disciplinary boundaries, suggesting that interdisciplinary writing might require a “boundary rhetoric”—one that negotiates the borders between the various disciplinary rhetorics involved. An example of such a boundary rhetoric can be found in the work of S. E. Jelliffe, a prominent physician-writer who proposed an innovative and controversial theory of psychosomatic medicine that offers to unite neurology and Freudian psychoanalysis. Jelliffe's work—in both its successes and failures—suggests some of the textual and conventional ways in which a boundary rhetoric can operate. At its most successful, Jelliffe's boundary rhetoric blurs the generic conventions and expectations of his constituent fields and “translates” the values and principles of one discipline into the language and discourse forms of the other. Given the increasing interdisciplinary character of much modern scholarship, Jelliffe's case is important in helping to illuminate potential problems and possibilities inherent in boundary rhetorics.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1993-10-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088393010004002
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Written Communication
Show all 7 →
  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly

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