Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2022

Changing Climate, Changing Terrain: The Stasis Metaphor and the Climate Crisis

Shelton Weech Purdue University West Lafayette

Abstract

Rhetorical theory has frequently relied on metaphors of place and positioning as heuristics to build better arguments. This article utilizes one such metaphor, that of stasis theory, as a method by which we might change the terrain of the conversation surrounding the climate crisis. As an example, the author does a rhetorical analysis of a recent agricultural report from the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment and finds that, rather than using traditional questions of conjecture and quality, the authors of the report focus on questions of procedure and definition to reframe the discussion surrounding the climate crisis. Drawing from the rhetoric in this report, the author suggests that technical communicators might similarly produce more fruitful conversations around the climate crisis if they focus on what to do (procedure) and redefining the crisis as a local issue (definition).

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2022-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281620966988
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Topics
classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism argument assessment technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Pandey (2025)
    A Comparative Rhetorical Analysis of Trump and Biden's Climate Change Speeches:…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Murray (2023)
    POWHR to the People: Fighting for Climate Justice and Opposing the Mountain Val…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

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