Forum: Bruno Latour on Rhetoric
Abstract: A special forum on Bruno Latour, an amazingly eclectic and influential thinker whose work in philosophy, religion, anthropology, and sociology of science has been taken up with enthusiasm recently by scholars of rhetoric and writing studies. Featuring Lynda Walsh’s September 2015 interview with Latour, the forum begins with Walsh’s introduction: a comprehensive and incisive account of Latour’s career and the basis of his appeal for rhetoricians. In the interview itself—often more of a conversation than interview—Walsh queries Latour on his relationship to rhetoric: through his schooling, disciplinary attachments, choice of terminologies, and the potential applications of his ideas. There follows a set of invited responses by scholars whose work has been influenced by Latour. Finally, Carolyn R. Miller offers a provocative counterpoint on the whole project.
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