Jossalyn Larson

Assistant Teaching Professor in English and Technical Communications

I am an Assistant Teaching Professor with the Department of English and Technical Communication at Missouri University of Science and Technology. As a scholar of rhetoric and composition housed at a STEM university, I am consistently engaged with questions regarding the applicability of the humanities to careers in science and engineering. The influence of “scientism” - the philosophy that argues for the supremacy of the scientific method and the rejection of all modes of thought that cannot be confirmed by empirical data - makes encouraging new ways of thinking exceptionally difficult. This influence is also divisive, and it can put scientists and engineers at odds with a wider audience: it has led to drastic political divides and even divides within families, giving rise to what some have called “anti-intellectualism.” My professional focus is to help scientists, engineers, and business professionals recognize the moral and philosophical nuances embedded in their own rhetoric, so that they can communicate their projects in a way that is clear, self-aware, and morally sensitive. In my recent studies, I have investigated the use of figurative language in scientific articles, in order to reveal the discursive underpinnings of the current state of the conflict between science and religion.