| Summary: | Since the 1960s, there has been an active and distinct research field within rhetorical studies in the United States, which explores the “rhetoric of social movements”. Researchers affiliated with this stream have staged from the outset a rich and structured debate dealing with meta-theoretical issues related to the scientific responsibility of the researcher and the social role of the research in the context of protest and collective action. This article explores the evolution of this debate, in which the participants have initially questioned the relevance of the scientific ethos of contemporary rhetorical theory, and aspired to redefine the responsibility of the researcher with regard to the social dynamics in the public sphere. Subsequently, researchers in the rhetoric of social movements discussed the dialectical relations between rhetorical analysis and social movements, i.e. between theory and practice, and therefore aspired to define the social commitment of specialists in the rhetoric of social movements both as researchers and teachers. The article describes this debate and discusses its contribution to the evolution of rhetorical theory on the one hand, and to the ongoing thinking about the scientific and social commitment of the researcher vis-a-vis processes and practice of social change on the other.
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