Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2010

Political Rhetoric in a World Risk Society

Robert Danisch Concordia University

Abstract

Abstract We live in a world of risks that lurk everywhere, in the food and water we consume, in the viruses and bacteria we encounter, and in the global political scene that seems more and more volatile. This article pursues two lines of inquiry: first, I use the concept of risk, and specifically the work of Ulrich Beck, to show how the relationship between science, politics, and rhetoric is being transformed from earlier, politically progressive, twentieth-century conceptions of the role of science in public culture. Second, I try to explain how the concept of risk has altered political culture and requires a different form of prudence for political rhetoric. These two lines of inquiry work to demonstrate how uncertainty and contingency are now the products of techno-scientific rationality. This way of thinking about contingency changes how we understand the practices of political rhetoric and the constitution of public culture. Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert Danisch Robert Danisch is Assistant Professor in the General Studies Unit at Concordia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve West EV-6.233, Montreal, Quebec H2S 2E3, Canada.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2010-03-26
DOI
10.1080/02773941003614456
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Topics
rhetorical criticism public rhetoric editorial matter
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Mitchell (2025)
    Reckoning with Asymptomatic Illness: Visceral Certainty and the Limits of Commu…
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  2. Richards (2025)
    Dead Man’s Switch: Blame and Causality in the Epideictic Scenes of Disaster
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  3. Gordon (2024)
    Celebritizing Dr. Fauci: Risk, Public Affection, and the “Total Package” of Sci…
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  4. Commer et al. (2024)
    (Re)Locating the Rhetorical Commonplaces of Failure and Risk-Taking
    Rhetoric Review
  5. Walsh et al. (2016)
    Perspectives on Uncertainty for Technical Communication Scholars
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 8 →
  1. Walker (2016)
    Mapping the Contours of Translation: Visualized Un/Certainties in the Ozone Hol…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Richards (2015)
    Testing the waters: local users, sea level rise, and the productive usability o…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Walker et al. (2012)
    “No One Yet Knows What the Ultimate Consequences May Be”: How Rachel Carson Tra…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 18 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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