Public Trust

Although it can be traced throughout human history, trust remains a curious element of humanity. Across disciplines including sociology, philosophy, and rhetoric, trust has been considered from a social, political, and cultural standpoint. It is often understood as difficult to build and maintain, yet fragile in its composition. In rhetoric, trust is related to the ancient concept of ethos. Originating as one of Aristotle’s three artistic proofs, ethos underscores the character of a speaker, including relevant concepts of virtuous character, competence, and goodwill to audiences. Traditionally, ethos was considered within the relationship between speaker and audience, with audiences making judgments about the character of a speaker through their performance or credentials.

In contemporary society, ethos and trust have been troubled beyond the scope of the traditional account. In globalized, networked society, trust is tied to cultural backgrounds, digital networks and histories, performed through various social media platforms, and manipulated through new technologies, AI and machine learning. Yet, both trust and ethos remain vital elements of how societies function, relationships form and decisions are made.

In this talk, Kjeldsen and Hess discuss the ways in which ethos and trust can be theorized, contextualized, compared and contrasted across Scandinavia and the US. While Scandinavian and Nordic countries enjoy high levels of social trust, the United States has experienced a crisis of trust in social and political contexts. This became particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the health authorities and political leadership of Norway was afforded high trust and compliance with measures throughout the crisis. In a remarkable contrast to this the public trust in scientists, health agencies, and political leadership fell in the US during the same crisis. Through discussion and dialogue, professors Jens Kjeldsen of the University of Bergen, Norway and Aaron Hess, Arizona State University, will offer varied perspectives on ethos, credibility and trust across the two societies.

Bios

Jens E. Kjeldsen is professor of rhetoric and visual communication at the University of Bergen (Norway) and professor II of practical rhetoric at University of Oslo (Norway). His main research areas include visual and multimodal rhetoric and argumentation, rhetorical reception studies, speechmaking and speechwriting, royal rhetoric, political debates and rhetoric and expertise in the pandemic. He is the co-founder and longtime president of Rhetoric Society of Europe, the co-founder and longtime chief editor of the research journal Rhetorica Scandinavica. He is also the founder and leader of the national Norwegian speech competition “Seize the word,” which teaches high school students to take the word and exercise rhetorical citizenship. Kjeldsen is the winner of several teaching and communication awards and has received the Grand Award of the international Cicero Speechwriting Award, offered by the Professional Speechwriter Association. Presently, Kjeldsen is working on rhetoric of the AMR-crisis and issues of ethos, trust and credibility.

Aaron Hess is associate professor of rhetoric and communication in the School of Applied Sciences and Arts within the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University. His research includes developing participatory approaches to rhetoric and public advocacy, examinations of rhetoric and digital technologies, and theorizing about issues of credibility, ethos and trust. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Norway for the 2022-2023 academic year, during which he studied issues of trust and ethos as they pertain to culture, technology and other social issues. He has authored, coauthored, or edited four volumes and his many essays are featured in the International Journal of Communication, New Media & Society, and Communication Monographs, among others. In 2016, his co-authored book, Participatory Critical Rhetoric, won the Outstanding Book of the Year award in the Critical and Cultural Studies Division at the National Communication Association.

This is a hybrid event hosted by Humanities Institute.

• For online attendees, Zoom link will be provided before the event.

Image: James Gillray (British, 1757-1815), “Patriotic Regeneration – Viz – Parliament Refound’d a la Francoise, - that is, - Honest Men (i.e. Opposition) in the Seat of Justice. Vide, Carmaguol Expectations,” 1795. Hand-colored etching, Yale Center For British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (Photo: Department of Prints and Drawings)