I'm sorry, Jean, I don't have a specific text that fulfills your desire,
but your message reminds me of a course I taught recently on "The Rhetoric
of Environmentalism and the Ecology of Rhetoric," in which I used the Craig
Waddell's collection, Landmark Essays on Rhetoric and the Environment"
(Hermagoras). Environmental issues, of course, almost inevitably involve
science. For the rest of the readings, I used some standard rhetorical
texts and concepts, then had the students apply them (e.g., rhetorical
situation; ethos/pathos/logos, terministic screens, root metaphors). Each
students then collected discourse from various sides of a particular
environmental issue and applied standard techniques of critical rhetorical
analysis. For myself I picked salmon farming in B.C., collected everything
from scientific journal articles to newspaper reports and stakeholder web
pages, and then analyzed that material to demonstrate the techniques of
rhetorical analysis I was trying to teach. Incidentally, I think the
course you're teaching is very important--one's ability to be an effective
citizen (or even consumer) nowadays depends in part on one's ability to
read popular scientific and mathematical (esp. statistical) discourse
critically. (Why in our society is illiteracy shameful and innumeracy not?)
Here is the same core concept of the preceding paragraph phrased as objectives:
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand what rhetoric is, know which aspects of discourse it can
highlight, and learn to do neo-Classical rhetorical analysis
2. Understand the implications of New Rhetorical assumptions,
especially symbolic action and learn to do New Rhetorical analysis.
3. Analyse and understand the rhetoric of popular science reporting.
4. Identify, analyse and understand the implications of the rhetorical
moves used in discussions about environmental issues.
5. Distinguish the frames and presuppositions associated with various
perspectives on environmental issues and understand their internal
consistencies.
6. Understand the concept of natural selection and apply it to
cultural/rhetorical evolution (i.e., the natural selection of culture and
the cultural selection of rhetorical forms).
[Note: Objectives 1 & 2 mean learning how to do rhetorical
analyses. Objective 3 mean understanding the rhetorical implications of
popular reporting of science news (including the statistical rhetoric of
reports based on polls). Objectives 4 and 5, which will take up most of
the course, mean applying rhetorical analysis to environmental
rhetoric. Number 6 closes the circle, using eco-rhetorical concepts to
explain rhetorical forms.]
At 06:34 PM 15/10/2007 -0400, you wrote:
>Can anyone suggest a text book for a course in communication and science?
>The course examines how critical scientific issues are communicated to
>science's major stakeholders, the public, government, and within
>scientific community itself. Thanks. Jean
>
>--
>Jean S. Mason, PhD
>Associate Professor
>Ryerson University http://www.ryerson.ca
>Rogers Communications Centre
>Faculty of Communication & Design
>Department of Professional Communication
>Graduate Program in Communication and Culture
>Tel: 416 979-5000 ext. 6380
>Fax: 416 979-5120
>http://www.jeanmason.ca
>MAILING ADDRESS:
>350 Victoria Street
>Toronto, ON., M5B 2K3
>Canada
>
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