On The Frontier Of Science: An American Rhetoric Of Exploration And Exploitation (rhetoric & Public Affairs)
by Leah Ceccarelli /
2013 / English / PDF
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“The frontier of science” is a metaphor that has become
ubiquitous in American rhetoric, from its first appearance in the
public address of early twentieth-century American intellectuals
and politicians who aligned a mythic national identity with
scientific research, to its more recent use in scientists’
arguments in favor of increased research funding. Here, Leah
Ceccarelli explores what is selected and what is deflected when
this metaphor is deployed, its effects on those who use it, and
what rhetorical moves are made by those who try to counter its
appeal. In her research, Ceccarelli discovers that “the frontier
of science” evokes a scientist who is typically male, a risk
taker, an adventurous loner—someone separated from a public that
both envies and distrusts him, with a manifest destiny to
penetrate the unknown. It conjures a competitive desire to claim
the riches of a new territory before others can do the same.
Closely reading the public address of scientists and politicians
and the reception of their audiences, this book shows how the
frontier of science metaphor constrains American speakers,
helping to guide the ends of scientific research in particular
ways and sometimes blocking scientists from attaining the very
goals they set out to achieve.
“The frontier of science” is a metaphor that has become
ubiquitous in American rhetoric, from its first appearance in the
public address of early twentieth-century American intellectuals
and politicians who aligned a mythic national identity with
scientific research, to its more recent use in scientists’
arguments in favor of increased research funding. Here, Leah
Ceccarelli explores what is selected and what is deflected when
this metaphor is deployed, its effects on those who use it, and
what rhetorical moves are made by those who try to counter its
appeal. In her research, Ceccarelli discovers that “the frontier
of science” evokes a scientist who is typically male, a risk
taker, an adventurous loner—someone separated from a public that
both envies and distrusts him, with a manifest destiny to
penetrate the unknown. It conjures a competitive desire to claim
the riches of a new territory before others can do the same.
Closely reading the public address of scientists and politicians
and the reception of their audiences, this book shows how the
frontier of science metaphor constrains American speakers,
helping to guide the ends of scientific research in particular
ways and sometimes blocking scientists from attaining the very
goals they set out to achieve.