Work on Rhetorical Boundaries Honored

A journal article penned by a communication professor and two of his Ph.D. students has been named the best research article on rhetoric, writing studies or discourse studies by the Canadian Association for Studies in Discourse and Writing.

“Risk, Regulation, and Rhetorical Boundaries: Claims and Challenges Surrounding a Purported Nuclear Renaissance” was published last September in the journal Communication Monographs.

The authors, Associate Professor William J. Kinsella and students Ashley R. Kelly and Meagan Kittle Autry, conducted extensive research on the public’s reaction to the recent merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy in North Carolina. Their article highlights the public’s attempts to engage regulatory commissioners in the complex discourse of energy companies and their regulation.

The award will be presented at the annual CASDW conference, held May 24-26 in St. Catherine’s, Ontario, Canada.