Ciulla, Nicole2022-02-152022-02-152020-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/226420University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2020. Major: Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication. Advisor: Thomas Reynolds. 1 computer file (PDF); iv, 145 pages.This dissertation is the culmination of three years of participant observation in city-driven climate action in St. Louis Park, MN. Drawing from observations, semi-structured interviews, and textual analysis, I present an analysis of temporal rhetorics circulating at this climate action site. The main body chapters of this dissertation explore three temporal common topics of climate action rhetoric, future generations, urgency, and public participation, and show how discussion around these topics can affect the objectives and outcomes of local climate action. I argue that reliance on the commonplaces of future generations and urgency can shape climate action toward ambitious energy targets, while potentially away from climate equity frameworks and local co-benefits. In chapter five, I examine the tensions present between calls to urgency in climate policy and calls to greater levels of public participation. I suggest some ways forward that focus on inclusive and decision-focused deliberative processes. The dissertation also explores the history and future trajectory of field methods in Writing Studies and Rhetoric. I argue that by attending more to the ethnographic concept of entanglement, we can add to the knowledge and practice of field methods in rhetoric by drawing together previously theorized commitments to embodiment, rhetorical ecology, and engagement.enClimate ActionCommonplacesPublic ParticipationRhetorical Field MethodsTemporal RhetoricsUrgencyThesis or Dissertation