Scientific knowledge, public knowledge, and public policy: genred formation and disruption of knowledge for acting about global warming

Abstract

Knowledge is produced, stored and accessed in specific genres associated with different activity systems. Coordinated action among diverse groups is facilitated by alignment of knowledge across spheres. Our knowledge of the environment has been created in recent history by the interaction of discourses in military, scientific, public, political, corporate and governmental spheres, although these spheres do not always work in concert and there exist significant obstacles and even resistances to communication of knowledge across boundaries. Citizen concerns have been crucial over the last sixty years in creating environmental knowledge from the perspective of citizens, in contrast to governmental or corporate interests, even though government has since taken on major responsibilities for the production, dissemination and authentication of environmental information. Those with a desire to disrupt remedial action on the environment have found disrupting the knowledge functions of the government an important tool.

The Writing’s on the Board

“…Whether teaching in their first, second, or additional languages to students who did or did not share their educational, linguistic, or cultural backgrounds, university mathematics teachers enacted the norms of their disciplinary CoP in remarkably similar ways through the genre of chalk talk. Bazerman (2010) has recently observed that "knowledge is produced, stored and accessed in specific genres associated with different activity systems" (p. 445); in the case of teaching undergraduate mathematics, the genre of chalk talk has proved to be a robust pedagogical genre that produces, stores, and communicates knowledge specific to the activity system of teaching undergraduate mathematics.…”

Mutual Constitution of Genre and Knowledge: The case of genre resistance in the French diplomatic occupational community

“…Building on the conception of genres as institutionalized templates for social action (Bazerman, 2021;Devitt, 2021;Miller, 1984), researchers began to examine how these communicative practices are dynamic phenomena that progressively emerge and change (Bhatia, 2015;Rutherford, 2005). CGA has in part developed through Bhatia's work (2015Bhatia's work ( , 2017 on the social action accomplished by genre enactment which reveals interdiscursive connections between contexts and practices.…”

Genre Uptake as Boundary-Work: Reasoning About Uptake in Wikipedia Articles

“…Whether or not publics, organizations, or governments understand how knowledge circulates through these genres shapes how and whether we address and mitigate the issue. Indeed, Bazerman (2010) summarizes how action on climate change requires coordination across disparate knowledge spheres from citizens to government to business. When such groups lack an understanding of how knowledge about climate change circulates through genres, it can undermine both coordination and action:Insofar as people are not skilled in engaging with these genres they are not able to build trust and engagement with the solutions, even if they accept general propositions on authority.…”

“…It is only through these genres that we know, and it is only when we know that we act with energy and conviction. (Bazerman, 2010, p. 446)Understanding how information about global warming circulates through genres in public can thus help account for barriers to mitigating it.…”

“…It is only through these genres that we know, and it is only when we know that we act with energy and conviction. (Bazerman, 2010, p. 446)…”