Vulgar pragmatism, critical pragmatism, and EAP

In response to Allison's (1996) recent defence of pragmatism in EAP, I argue that it is necessary at the very least to distinguish between “vulgar” and “critical” pragmatism (Cherryholmes 1988). By showing how various “discourses of neutrality” help construct EAP as a neutral enterprise, I argue that this makes a “vulgar pragmatist” position easily available. Such a position, I argue, must be limited in terms of the possibilities for challenge...