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Expanding the Audience for the Discourse on Diversity by Recognizing the Framing Power of Implicit Messages

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Conference

2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Portland, Oregon

Publication Date

June 23, 2024

Start Date

June 23, 2024

End Date

July 12, 2024

Conference Session

Equity and Belonging

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) and Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division (EQUITY)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/47385

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Paper Authors

biography

Kathryn A. Neeley University of Virginia

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Kathryn Neeley is Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society in the Engineering & Society Department of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. She is a past chair of the Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division of ASEE and is

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Abstract

Given the strong arguments in favor of diversity and the costs of perpetuating inequity, the persistence of underrepresentation is striking and suggests that we, as advocates for diversity, are not reaching audiences beyond those already committed to promoting diversity. This paper explores how our ways of talking about diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice (DEISJ) when we address people already committed to diversity may have the unintended consequence of deterring people outside the diversity community from interacting with us. It draws on rhetorical theory, social psychology, discourse analysis, and the concept of analogical imagination to illuminate the ways implicit messages can frame the discourse of diversity in ways that inadvertently deter audiences who do not see themselves as being part of the diversity community. It argues that the rhetorical mode of conversation (sermo) is more suitable than the commonly used epideictic mode (the rhetoric of praise and blame) and offers examples of thematic framing that are more conducive to conversation and thus likely to be more useful in expanding the audience for the discourse on diversity.

Neeley, K. A. (2024, June), Expanding the Audience for the Discourse on Diversity by Recognizing the Framing Power of Implicit Messages Paper presented at 2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Portland, Oregon. https://peer.asee.org/47385

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