Written Communication Oct 1993

Interdisciplinary Discourse and “Boundary Rhetoric”

DEBRA JOURNET

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
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers body and rhetoric

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Lambrecht (2023)
    Working to Resonate: Rhetorical Mapping of Disciplinary Stances about Technolog…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Derkatch (2012)
    Demarcating Medicine's Boundaries: Constituting and Categorizing in the Journal…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Moran et al. (2012)
    A Bibliography of Works Published in the History of Professional Communication …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. DETWEILER et al. (1999)
    Defining Occupations
    Written Communication
  5. Racine (1999)
    Using Corporate Lore to Create Boundaries in the Workplace
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 6 →
  1. Savage (1996)
    Redefining the ResponsibiIities of Teachers and the Social Position of the Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (4)

  1. McCarthy et al. (1991)
    Boundary Conversations: Conflicting Ways of Knowing in Philosophy and Interdisc…
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. JOURNET (1990)
    Forms of Discourse and the Sciences of the Mind
    Written Communication
  3. Flower (1989)
    Cognition, Context, and Theory Building
    College Composition and Communication
  4. BRODKEY (1987)
    Writing Ethnographic Narratives
    Written Communication
Also cites 24 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/358196
     ↗
  2. Brody, H.
    Stories of sickness
     ↗
  3. Bruner, J.
    Actual minds, possible worlds
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/357655
     ↗
  5. 10.1353/lm.2011.0271
     ↗
  6. 10.2307/357364
     ↗
  7. 10.1353/lm.2011.0296
     ↗
  8. Hawkins, A. H. (1992)
    10.1353/lm.2011.0187
    Literature and Medicine  ↗
  9. 10.2307/358073
     ↗
  10. 10.1353/lm.2011.0243
     ↗
  11. Jelliffe, S. E.
    Psychopathology of forced movements and the oculogyric crises of lethargic encephalitis
     ↗
  12. Jelliffe, S. E.
    Sketches in psychosomatic medicine
     ↗
  13. Kermode, F.
    The sense of an ending: Studies in the theory of fiction
     ↗
  14. 10.2307/377774
     ↗
  15. Mackie, J. B. (1974)
    10.1097/00005053-197411000-00001
    Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease  ↗
  16. 10.1353/lm.2011.0241
     ↗
  17. 10.1176/ajp.96.3.623
     ↗
  18. Phelps, L.
    Composition as a human science: Contributions to the self-understanding of a discipline
     ↗
  19. 10.1007/BF01071661
     ↗
  20. 10.1002/1520-6696(197701)13:1<3::AID-JHBS2300130102>3.0.CO;2-Z
     ↗
  21. Rudwick M.
    The Great Devonian controversy
     ↗
  22. 10.1353/lm.2011.0299
     ↗
  23. Simons, H. W.
    The rhetorical turn: Invention and persuasion in the conduct of inquiry
     ↗
  24. 10.2307/j.ctvjnrttd
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 23 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication ↗
    Emily Kuzneski Johnson
    multimodality technical communication multilingual writers
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document Design ↗
    Leslie Seawright; Amy Hodges; Timothy Ponce
    multimodality technical communication disability studies multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers
  4. Written Communication Feb 2026
    Reading Medium and Communicative Purpose in Writing: Effects on Pausing Behaviour and Text Quality, Controlling for Reading Comprehension and Executive Functions ↗
    Ángel Valenzuela; Cristian A. Rojas-Barahona; Ramón D. Castillo; Ladislao Salmerón
    assessment curriculum design multimodality multilingual writers revision
  5. Literacy in Composition Studies Feb 2026
    All Are Connected: From Traditional Chinese Medicine to Students’ Literacy Practices Reviewing Doing Difference Differently: Chinese International Students’ Literacy Practices and Affordances by Zhaozhe Wang ↗
    Shi, Carina Jiaxing
    multimodality multilingual writers