The different argument norms that govern scientific and legal argument spheres present a series o... more The different argument norms that govern scientific and legal argument spheres present a series of challenges when scientific arguments are subject to adjudication in legal contexts. As these argument spheres intersect, there is a process of negotiation between making scientific arguments justiciable for legal judgment while ensuring that scientific evidence retains its scientific merits. The Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) ruling, the landmark decision on the effort to combat global warming, demonstrates how argumentation studies are well positioned to navigate these challenges to offer reasoned judgment. While standards of legal and scientific arguments are often in tension, this paper explores how the Supreme Court ruling navigates this tension through awarding standing to the Petitioners. I argue that the Supreme Court's characterization of standing, the legal requirement for bringing suit, helps reconcile fissures between legal and scientific standa...
Deep disagreement is a concept that has been widely mentioned but is undertheorized in the argume... more Deep disagreement is a concept that has been widely mentioned but is undertheorized in the argumentation literature. This essay discusses what deep disagreement is, argues that it has become more frequent and serious, and then maps out a range of argument patterns that may be signs of its appearance: polemic, condemnation, paradigm shift, and interdependence. Finally, the essay suggests that rhetorical moves may be needed to alter the frame of reference and transcend the disagreement. Most of the examples come from the United States, because I know it best, but I believe that my claims are applicable generally.
Standing Up, Speaking Out: Stand-Up Comedy and the Rhetoric of Social Change by Matthew R. Meier (Editor), Casey R. Schmitt (Editor), 2017
Merging sociological theories of collective identity with rhetorical theories of humor, this chap... more Merging sociological theories of collective identity with rhetorical theories of humor, this chapter takes a look at the elusive phenomenon of conservative stand-up comedy in the United States of America. Drawing on a discursive analysis of a stand-up routine performed by the right-wing comedian Brad Stine, particular attention is placed on how Stine's rhetorical practices contribute to the construction of both liberal and conservative partisan-based identities in the US political sphere. Although the conservative comedic stances of Stine strive for satire, we argue that they end up relying on a form of the burlesque which traffics heavily in resentment, anger and prejudice. Ultimatley, it is argued that the exclusivist identity-building practices which accompany such forms of humor prevent the constructive forms of debates and dialogue that are needed to sustain a healthy functioning democratic system. Book chapter in Standing up, Speaking out: Stand-up Comedy and the Rhetoric of Social Change (2017) Meier, M. and Schmitt, C. New York:Routledge
Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American d... more Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American dream. However, the recent steroids scandals unearth contradictions within these narratives, highlighting anxieties concerning baseball's past and the steroid era related to our notions of fair play and a Puritan work ethic. We argue that the sports coverage of Mark McGwire's role as both savior and pariah of baseball evidences tensions surrounding the rhetorics of progress and American exceptionalism. This article suggests that the discourses surrounding the steroids era are best understood though the lens of nostalgia, which seeks resolution between the contradictory elements of American identity.
Science and religion, as institutions woven into the fabric of civil society, are sites of episod... more Science and religion, as institutions woven into the fabric of civil society, are sites of episodic struggles over the direction of human activity. Within these contests, there is often little room for arguments that draw both from science and religion. As a result, the energy from one side tends to counter, ra the other. Our panel explored some of the rhetorical conditions and resources that might keep a dialogue between science and religion open, meaningful, and energizing. What follows are the separate voices in this discussion, providing their retrospective accounts. the first person.
The specialized vocabularies and complex methodologies of scientific practice complicate efforts ... more The specialized vocabularies and complex methodologies of scientific practice complicate efforts both to communicate scientific information to lay publics and to enable those publics to sort out competing scientific claims when public policy decisions hang in the balance.
This essay investigates the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) use of the fiction... more This essay investigates the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) use of the fictional film GATTACA in the policy brief, ''Essentially Yours,'' as a rhetorical commonplace to frame various ethical, legal, and scientific issues related to genetic tech-nologies. Because emerging ...
Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American d... more Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American dream. However, the recent steroids scandals unearth contradictions within these narratives, highlighting anxieties concerning baseball's past and the steroid era related to our ...
The different argument norms that govern scientific and legal argument spheres present a series o... more The different argument norms that govern scientific and legal argument spheres present a series of challenges when scientific arguments are subject to adjudication in legal contexts. As these argument spheres intersect, there is a process of negotiation between making scientific arguments justiciable for legal judgment while ensuring that scientific evidence retains its scientific merits. The Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) ruling, the landmark decision on the effort to combat global warming, demonstrates how argumentation studies are well positioned to navigate these challenges to offer reasoned judgment. While standards of legal and scientific arguments are often in tension, this paper explores how the Supreme Court ruling navigates this tension through awarding standing to the Petitioners. I argue that the Supreme Court's characterization of standing, the legal requirement for bringing suit, helps reconcile fissures between legal and scientific standa...
Deep disagreement is a concept that has been widely mentioned but is undertheorized in the argume... more Deep disagreement is a concept that has been widely mentioned but is undertheorized in the argumentation literature. This essay discusses what deep disagreement is, argues that it has become more frequent and serious, and then maps out a range of argument patterns that may be signs of its appearance: polemic, condemnation, paradigm shift, and interdependence. Finally, the essay suggests that rhetorical moves may be needed to alter the frame of reference and transcend the disagreement. Most of the examples come from the United States, because I know it best, but I believe that my claims are applicable generally.
Standing Up, Speaking Out: Stand-Up Comedy and the Rhetoric of Social Change by Matthew R. Meier (Editor), Casey R. Schmitt (Editor), 2017
Merging sociological theories of collective identity with rhetorical theories of humor, this chap... more Merging sociological theories of collective identity with rhetorical theories of humor, this chapter takes a look at the elusive phenomenon of conservative stand-up comedy in the United States of America. Drawing on a discursive analysis of a stand-up routine performed by the right-wing comedian Brad Stine, particular attention is placed on how Stine's rhetorical practices contribute to the construction of both liberal and conservative partisan-based identities in the US political sphere. Although the conservative comedic stances of Stine strive for satire, we argue that they end up relying on a form of the burlesque which traffics heavily in resentment, anger and prejudice. Ultimatley, it is argued that the exclusivist identity-building practices which accompany such forms of humor prevent the constructive forms of debates and dialogue that are needed to sustain a healthy functioning democratic system. Book chapter in Standing up, Speaking out: Stand-up Comedy and the Rhetoric of Social Change (2017) Meier, M. and Schmitt, C. New York:Routledge
Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American d... more Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American dream. However, the recent steroids scandals unearth contradictions within these narratives, highlighting anxieties concerning baseball's past and the steroid era related to our notions of fair play and a Puritan work ethic. We argue that the sports coverage of Mark McGwire's role as both savior and pariah of baseball evidences tensions surrounding the rhetorics of progress and American exceptionalism. This article suggests that the discourses surrounding the steroids era are best understood though the lens of nostalgia, which seeks resolution between the contradictory elements of American identity.
Science and religion, as institutions woven into the fabric of civil society, are sites of episod... more Science and religion, as institutions woven into the fabric of civil society, are sites of episodic struggles over the direction of human activity. Within these contests, there is often little room for arguments that draw both from science and religion. As a result, the energy from one side tends to counter, ra the other. Our panel explored some of the rhetorical conditions and resources that might keep a dialogue between science and religion open, meaningful, and energizing. What follows are the separate voices in this discussion, providing their retrospective accounts. the first person.
The specialized vocabularies and complex methodologies of scientific practice complicate efforts ... more The specialized vocabularies and complex methodologies of scientific practice complicate efforts both to communicate scientific information to lay publics and to enable those publics to sort out competing scientific claims when public policy decisions hang in the balance.
This essay investigates the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) use of the fiction... more This essay investigates the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) use of the fictional film GATTACA in the policy brief, ''Essentially Yours,'' as a rhetorical commonplace to frame various ethical, legal, and scientific issues related to genetic tech-nologies. Because emerging ...
Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American d... more Baseball has been a reservoir for nostalgic narratives of equality, fair play, and the American dream. However, the recent steroids scandals unearth contradictions within these narratives, highlighting anxieties concerning baseball's past and the steroid era related to our ...
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