In terms of their substantive concerns and epistemological approach, the research fields of the sociology of knowledge and the history of knowledge show significant enough similarities to allow shared theory development. The recent work of Jeffrey C. Alexander on ‘dramatic intellectuals’ offers a useful point of departure for such an undertaking. Alexander’s interest in the way intellectuals provide meaning-making narratives for their audiences can be seen as not unlike the interest of historians of knowledge in examining how knowledge circulates in society, with his postulates about dramatic intellectuals amounting to a theory of knowledge circulation. To support this argument, two case studies are presented: one on the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess and another on his Swedish colleague Ingemar Hedenius, showing how many of their activities in the early post-war period can be understood as attempts at meaning construction through narratives formulated to help the broader public orient itself in the world in difficult times. To capture such aspects in the study of intellectuals and their audiences, researchers will do well to heed Alexander’s observation that what enables knowledge to circulate in society is its dramatic conveyance through well-formulated meaning-making narratives, enabling social actors to make sense of their circumstances.