Rhetoric and Communication Studies
Rhetoric and Communication Studies is a research topic within Philosophy. Science Explorer counts 14k research works in it since 1950. 31.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the intersection of rhetoric, democracy, and public discourse, with a focus on activism, visual argumentation, race and identity, environmental communication, cultural memory, political rhetoric, and social justice. The papers examine how language and communication shape public opinion, influence political narratives, and contribute to the construction of collective memory in democratic societies.
- Rhetoric
- Democracy
- Public Discourse
- Activism
- Visual Argumentation
- Race and Identity
- Environmental Communication
- Cultural Memory
- Political Rhetoric
- Social Justice
- Research works
- 14k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 4.6k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 31.9% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +1% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Rhetoric and Communication Studies research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (814 and 151 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 814 works
- 2 United Kingdom 151 works
- 3 China 89 works
- 4 Canada 68 works
- 5 Australia 57 works
- 6 Germany 53 works
- 7 Indonesia 48 works
- 8 Denmark 44 works
- 9 Norway 33 works
- 10 Netherlands 32 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Rhetoric and Communication Studies research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Copenhagen publishes the most Rhetoric and Communication Studies research, followed by The University of Texas at Austin and Pennsylvania State University.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of CopenhagenDenmark 20 works
- 2 The University of Texas at AustinUnited States 19 works
- 3 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 15 works
- 4 Georgia State UniversityUnited States 13 works
- 5 University of Maryland, College ParkUnited States 11 works
- 6 University of BergenNorway 10 works
- 7 University of GeorgiaUnited States 9 works
- 8 University of ChicagoUnited States 9 works
- 9 University of the HumanitiesMongolia 8 works
- 10 University of OsloNorway 8 works
Who are the leading researchers in Rhetoric and Communication Studies?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Rhetoric and Communication Studies include Teun A. van Dijk.
- 1 Teun A. van Dijk Spain 2.5k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Rhetoric and Communication Studies research done?
The largest centres of Rhetoric and Communication Studies research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Copenhagen (Denmark), New York (United States) and Austin (United States). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Copenhagen.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 London United Kingdom 31 works
- 2 Copenhagen Denmark 28 works
- 3 New York United States 23 works
- 4 Austin United States 19 works
- 5 Atlanta United States 19 works
- 6 Washington D.C. United States 19 works
- 7 Chicago United States 18 works
- 8 Los Angeles United States 16 works
- 9 State College United States 15 works
- 10 Beijing China 13 works
Where it is the local speciality
- CopenhagenDK · 28.1 works8.9×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Rhetoric and Communication Studies than the world average.
Where is the best place to study Rhetoric and Communication Studies?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Georgia, University of Copenhagen and University of Bergen score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of GeorgiaUnited States | 74.6 | 54.6% | 11.3× | 9 | +261.1% |
| 2 | University of CopenhagenDenmark | 66.3 | 25.4% | 15.6× | 20 | +27.3% |
| 3 | University of BergenNorway | 66.0 | 32.8% | 20.3× | 10 | +230.7% |
| 4 | The University of Texas at AustinUnited States | 64.5 | 32.9% | 12.3× | 19 | +12.5% |
| 5 | Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States | 59.7 | 39.5% | 8.7× | 16 | +57.2% |
| 6 | University of Maryland, College ParkUnited States | 51.3 | 32.3% | 10.5× | 11 | +4.2% |
| 7 | University of the HumanitiesMongolia | 44.0 | 8.6% | 152.3× | 8 | +91.9% |
| 8 | Georgia State UniversityUnited States | 43.7 | 20.0% | 24.2× | 13 | -39.2% |
| 9 | University of OsloNorway | 42.1 | 34.1% | 8.8× | 8 | -6.9% |
| 10 | University of ChicagoUnited States | 8.0 | 11.7% | 5.8× | 9 | +18.1% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is Rhetoric and Communication Studies research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 1% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2016. The fastest-growing topics are Rhetoric and Communication Studies.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.