Commonplaces and social uncertainty: Negotiating public opinion

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    Abstract

    This article explores the concept of uncertainty in four focus group discussions about genetically modified food. In the discussions, members of the general public interact with food biotechnology scientists while negotiating their attitudes towards genetic engineering. Their discussions offer an example of risk discourse in which the use of commonplaces seems to be a central feature (Myers 2004: 81). My analyses support earlier findings that commonplaces serve important interactional purposes (Barton 1999) and that they are used for mitigating disagreement, for closing topics and for facilitating risk discourse (Myers 2005; 2007). In additional, however, I argue that commonplaces are used to mitigate feelings of insecurity caused by uncertainty and to negotiate new codes of moral conduct.

    Keywords: uncertainty, commonplaces, risk discourse, focus groups, appraisal

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalJournal of Risk Research
    Volume11
    Issue number8
    Pages (from-to)1025-1045
    Number of pages21
    ISSN1366-9877
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

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