Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2011

Talking Off-Label: The Role ofStasisin Transforming the Discursive Formation of Pain Science

S. Scott Graham Iowa State University ; Carl G. Herndl University of South Florida

Abstract

This article uses Foucault's enunciative analysis and stasis theory to explore the rhetorical work of the Midwest Pain Group (MPG) as its members struggle to collaborate across disciplinary difference to transform the discourse and practice of pain science. Foucault's enunciative analysis explains how discourse formations regulate statements, but not how formations can be transformed. We argue that stases can be thought of as nodes in the networks of statements Foucault describes and that stasis theory explains the rhetorical means through which members of the MPG work to transform the discourse of pain science. As the members of the MPG confront the epistemological incommensurability that exists between their individual disciplines, they establish a meta-discourse in which the definitional and jurisdictional stases help them invent a new definitional topos. We describe the way this rhetorical work occurs “off- label” in violation of the discursive restrictions of scientific disciplines, regulatory agencies, and insurance institutions.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2011-03-31
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2011.553764
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Topics
classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (10)

  1. Deptula (2025)
    One Size Does Not Fit All: How Clinical Pain Assessment Scales and Tools Mask C…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Lindgren (2024)
    A Stasis Network Methodology to Reckon with the Rhetorical Process of Data: How…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Gerdes (2023)
    Diagnosing Unsettled Stasis in Transnational Communication Design: An Explorati…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Gordon et al. (2022)
    Masked Meanings: COVID-19 and the Subversion of Stasis Hierarchy
    Rhetoric Review
  5. Carter (2021)
    The Construction of Value in Science Research Articles: A Quantitative Study of…
    Written Communication
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  1. Majdik (2019)
    A Computational Approach to Assessing Rhetorical Effectiveness: Agentic Framing…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Kessler et al. (2018)
    Terminal node problems: ANT 2.0 and prescription drug labels
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. DeVasto et al. (2016)
    Stasis and Matters of Concern: The Conviction of the L’Aquila Seven
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Hoppmann (2014)
    A Modern Theory of Stasis
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  5. Graham et al. (2013)
    Multiple Ontologies in Pain Management: Toward a Postplural Rhetoric of Science
    Technical Communication Quarterly

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CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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