ABSTRACT
Looking to strengthen the body of knowledge in public relations, rhetorical and critical scholars are creating theory that conceives of public relations as a potent force in society. Theirs is a worldview focused not only on explaining how public relations functions in organizations, but also on the meaning-making between organizations and publics, as they develop, cocreate, negotiate, and maintain their relationships with one another. Rhetorical and critical scholars take a humanistic approach to their studies of public relations. They consider the organization as speaker or rhetor, who seeks to influence stakeholders, employees, media, government, activist groups, and society. Rhetorical and critical scholars believe that the symbolic properties of communication construct organizational and public expectations, beliefs and behavior, their agreements and disagreements, misunderstandings, and ongoing interactions.
