Reflections on my work and on rhetoric as a methodology

Abstract In this paper Michael Billig reviews his changing interests. Over the course of his career, he has written books on fascism, nationalism, rhetoric and the history of rock’n’roll. Isaiah Berlin’s famous distinction between thinkers who resemble foxes and those who resemble hedgehogs can be applied to Billig. According to Berlin, foxes know lots of small things while hedgehogs know one big thing. Billig would appear fox-like. Not only has he changed topics regularly, but he has changed his methods for collecting evidence. Billig discusses why the appearance of being a fox might be misleading. He has maintained three continuing preoccupations. The first is that he has examined rhetorical argumentation and takes sides in the arguments that he studies. The second are his aesthetic feelings which have led him to advocate that social scientists should write clearly and avoid unnecessary jargon. Lastly, Billig supports the use of detailed examples, claiming that social scientists should use more examples and less theorising.