Keeping the rhetoric orthodox: Forum control in science

Abstract

Academic disciplines certify knowledge through publication in scholarly journals; therefore, peer review of journal articles is one method of authorizing someone's speech. It is possible, however, to see peer review and other strategies as methods by which elites silence or de‐authorize voices that pose a threat to their status. This article discusses four methods of forum control— peer review, denial of forum, public correction, and published ridicule. Examples are drawn from cases in science.