Readings in Rhetorical Fieldwork

Readings in Rhetorical Fieldwork compiles foundational articles highlighting the development of fieldwork in rhetorical criticism. Presenting a wide variety of approaches, the volume begins with a section establishing the starting points for the development of fieldwork in rhetorical criticism and then examines five topics: Space & Place; Public Memory; Publics and Counterpublics; Advocacy and Activism; and Science, Technology, and Medicine. Within these sections, readers evaluate a full spectrum of methods, from interviews, to oral histories, to participant observation. This volume is invaluable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of rhetorical criticism, rhetorical fieldwork, and qualitative methods looking for a comprehensive overview of the development of rhetorical fieldwork.

Samantha Senda-Cook (PhD, University of Utah) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and an affiliated faculty member with the Environmental Science and Sustainability programs at Creighton University. She studies rhetorical theory and analyzes environmental communication and materiality in the contexts of social movements, outdoor recreation, and urban spaces/places.

Aaron Hess (PhD, Arizona State University, Tempe) is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Communication at the Downtown campus of Arizona State University. His scholarly trajectory can be traced through two foundational avenues—participatory rhetorical methods and digital rhetorical theory—which offer methodological rigor and theoretical insight into his research.

Michael K. Middleton (PhD, University of Utah) is an Assistant Professor of Argumentation & Public Discourse and the Director of the John R. Park Debate Society in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. Michael’s research focuses on rhetoric, argumentation, public discourse, and cultural studies in the contexts of political advocacy and social movements.

Danielle Endres (Ph.D., University of Washington) is a Professor of Communication and affiliated faculty in the Environmental Humanities Program and the Global Change and Sustainability Center at the University of Utah. Her research focuses on the rhetoric of controversies and social movements including environmental justice, American Indian activism, nuclear waste siting decisions, climate change activism, and energy policy.