1st Edition
The Troubled Rhetoric and Communication of Climate Change The argumentative situation
Introduction 1. What If We’re Wrong About What’s Wrong with Argument? 2. The Trouble with Audience 3. I Do Believe in Science, I Do Believe in Science 4. Who Do You Doubt? 5. Reasoning Backwards Is Reasoning Forwards 6. Team Camo, Team Khaki 7. Team Camo and Team Khaki on Climate Change 8. The Attention Imperative 9. Chasing Ice, Chasing Eyes 10. How Should We Argue? Epilogue
Biography
Philip Eubanks is Professor of English at Northern Illinois University, USA.
"In this highly readable but expert account of the rhetoric of climate change, Philip Eubanks offers a clear-eyed view of the difficulties that beset public argument in today’s political climate. Faced with ideological intransigence, pervasive bias, misinformation, and epidemic mistrust, anyone who enters the debate, on any side, entertains poor prospects for success. And yet, Professor Eubanks gives us hope that the evidence will prevail, that rational argument remains possible, and that humanity will find the way to a future free from apocalyptic decline. This is a book that everyone should read."– M. Jimmie Killingsworth, Texas A & M University, USA.
"We all know about the ‘climate debate’, but do we understand it? This lucidly written book guides its readers through the tangle of rhetorical arguments that paralyze this debate and opens up a space for mutual understanding. It should be read by everybody interested in, or exasperated by, this global argument." – Brigitte Nerlich, The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
"Philip Eubanks explains the debate about climate change in ways that it's never been explained before. Thoughtfully written, breathtakingly clear, and well-researched, the book actually models for us (and for our students) the appropriate forms of rhetorical debate Eubanks advocates. He gives us a sense of how we ought to be arguing about climate change." – Deborah H. Holdstein, Columbia College Chicago, USA.
"This book is incredibly engaging and readable, in part because of Eubanks’s skillful organization, but also in part because of his approachable and self-aware style. His tone suggests a deep familiarity with his material and a desire to interest a wide audience. (...) Taken together, the book’s ten chapters work toward building a portrait of climate change communication complex enough to match the "complexity, contingency, and uncertainty" of climate change itself (135)." - Rhetoric Review
