Article
Opening the "Black Box" of Climate Change Science: Actor-Network Theory and Rhetorical Practice in Scientific Controversies
Southern Communication Journal
Publication Date
4-1-2011
Abstract
In this essay, Joseph Barton’s controversial congressional investigation of the well-known ‘‘hockey-stick’’ study of climate change, produced by Michael Mann, Raymond Bradley, and Malcolm Hughes, is analyzed though the critical lens of actor-network theory. Turning to the works of Bruno Latour, Michel Callon, and John Law, this essay illustrates how the hockey-stick node of this rhetorical climate change actor-network was successfully defended by invoking the entire actor-network as an inventional resource. Suggestions for improving environmental communication and the theoretical linkages between rhetorical criticism, rhetoric of science, and actor-network theory are discussed.
Disciplines
Copyright
2011 Taylor & Francis.
Publisher statement
This is an electronic version of an article published in Southern Communication Journal.
Citation Information
Richard D. Besel. "Opening the "Black Box" of Climate Change Science: Actor-Network Theory and Rhetorical Practice in Scientific Controversies" Southern Communication Journal Vol. 76 Iss. 2 (2011) p. 120 - 136 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/rbesel/7/