Genre Uptake as Boundary-Work: Reasoning About Uptake in Wikipedia Articles

Ana Cooke Pennsylvania State University

Abstract

The circulation of scientific and technical genres in online publics can shape both public opinion and policy deliberation about issues such as global warming. While rhetoric and professional writing scholarship has documented the myriad ways that genres are transformed as they circulate across discursive boundaries, few examine how argument shapes those transformation and circulations. Drawing on Gieryn’s concept of boundary-work, this article analyzes arguments in the discussion pages of Wikipedia articles about global warming to document how editors argue about genre as they deliberate over what counts as reliable sources of global warming knowledge. This analysis demonstrates how argument mediates genre uptake and circulation. In doing so, it helps account for how technical and scientific genres circulate in contemporary online publics.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2021-04-01
DOI
10.1177/0047281620906150
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly

References (42) · 7 in this index

  1. Anderson M., Hitlin P., Atkinson M. (2016, January 14). Wikipedia at 15: Millions of readers in scores of lan…
  2. 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.08.003
  3. Shaping written knowledge: The genre and activity of the experimental article in science
  4. Genre and the new rhetoric
  5. 10.1590/S1518-76322010000300002
Show all 42 →
  1. Bender E. M., Morgan J. T., Oxley M., Zachry M., Hutchinson B., Marin A., Ostendorf M. (2011). Annotating soc…
  2. Written Communication
  3. 10.7330/9781607324430.c001
  4. Bolt A. (2009, December 20). Climategate: How the cabal controlled Wikipedia. Herald Sun. Retrieved from http…
  5. 10.1136/bmj.g1585
  6. 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2003.10.001
  7. Written Communication
  8. 10.1215/9780822376064
  9. Arguing over texts: The rhetoric of interpretation
  10. 10.1111/comt.12088
  11. Textual dynamics of the professions: Historical and contemporary studies of writing in pr…
  12. 10.7330/9781607324430.c003
  13. 10.1068/a37287
  14. Rhetorical criticism: Exploration and practice
  15. Genre and the new rhetoric
  16. The rhetoric and ideology of genre: Strategies for stability and change
  17. Cultural boundaries of science: Credibility on the line
  18. The rhetoric and ideology of genre: Strategies for stability and change
  19. Journal of the American Forensic Association
  20. Argumentation
  21. 10.1017/CBO9780511546013.003
  22. Computers and Composition
  23. 10.26818/9780814213988
  24. Landmark essays on rhetoric of science: Case studies
  25. 10.1080/17512786.2010.506060
  26. 10.1080/00335638409383686
  27. Wikipedia: A new community of practice
  28. 10.5040/9780755694525
  29. 10.7330/9781607324430
  30. Schiff S. (2006, July 31). Know it all: Can Wikipedia conquer expertise? The New Yorker. Retrieved from http:…
  31. Schneider J., Samp K., Passant A., Decker S. (2013). Arguments about deletion: How experience improves the ac…
  32. Written Communication
  33. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  34. 10.1145/344599.344646
  35. Written Communication
  36. 10.7330/9781607324430.c009
  37. 10.1088/0963-6625/9/2/301