Abstract Disciplinary societies have convening power and are well-positioned to influence culture within their fields. One way they do so is through statements issued following social crises. In this interpretive content analysis, we explored and categorized rhetorical strategies that six STEM disciplinary societies used in statements written in association with three major events: the COVID pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, and US Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions . We found four patterns in societies’ rhetorical appeals, used to facilitate sensemaking and legitimate organizational actions. We discuss how crisis communications may help encourage cohesion and motivate cultural change within disciplines.
Lue et al. (Fri,) studied this question.