This article describes the stance that a rhetorical English teacher adopts, in order to respond more flexibly to the student who operates from the boundaries of our classrooms, our pedagogy and our theoretical investments. It is suggested that when we welcome these boundary dwellers, far from disrupting our practice, we prompt civic discourse and…

Develops the "knowledge-as-status" perspective and its model to help describe what knowledge is and how knowledge changes over time. Concludes that knowledge in a particular field will progress or regress on the basis of reasons for and against the changes--reasons advanced and analyzed in a rhetorically epistemological way. (PD)

Clarifies problems concerning the nature and scope of rhetoric, including its relation to human knowledge, by viewing rhetorical methods as universal, rule-governed, and productive of knowledge having normative force. Knowledge is conceptualized as developing within a social-symbolic sphere of methods, subject matters, derivations, applications,…

In this reconsideration of social knowledge, an attempt is made to resolve ambiguities related to the original project on social knowledge. Three regions of dispute fostered by the original essay are examined and explained: the definition of social knowledge, the issue of form, and the problems of normative impact. (JMF)

Investigates differing perspectives on the role played by rhetoric in the acquisition of knowledge. Concludes that rhetoric, if viewed as an act of striving for audience adherence and consensus, can be a tool of critical inquiry which moves its practitioners (scientists, philosophers, or public communicators) toward apprehending reality. (PD)

Rhetoricians since Plato's day have been concerned with how much knowledge speakers should possess in order to speak effectively as well as ethically. The expert, like anyone, can err, but the chance of factual error decreases when speakers have a thorough grasp of their subject matter. However, the expertise position can potentially become a…