Padawanbater2
Well-Known Member
"We argue that processes of constructing expert identities are political strategies that are parallel to the legitimation strategies found in public policy research (Van Leeuwen & Wodak, 1999) or in organization studies (Vaara & Monin, 2010; Vaara, Tienari & Laurila, 2006). These authors distinguish five main discursive strategies: authorization, rationalization, moral evaluation, mythopoiesis, and normalization, which we also expect to find, to varying degrees, in experts’ claims. These align with rhetorical modes of proof (Suddaby & Greenwood, 2005): authorization, rationalization, and normalization strategies are forms of logos, moral evaluation aligns with ethos, and mythopoiesis aligns with pathos. To undermine the claims and frames put forward by other members of the same professional group, individuals may also employ antagonistic identity framing of others as non-experts (destructive strategy per Van Leeuwen & Wodak, 1999) using oppositional strategies (cf. social identity threats per Branscombe, Ellemers, Spears, & Doosje, 1999). Berger and Luckmann (1967) especially point to annihilation, be it by outright denial of the validity or by downplaying and ridiculing the claim or by attempting to assign an inferior status to the claimant and her or his sources of information."