Suggests that a systematic triadic theory could prove relevant to contemporary understandings of communication. Reviews historical foundations of triadic theory, identifying semiotic, sociological, and interactionist conceptions of the triad. Outlines a transactional-participatory understanding of the triad, based on a mutual-personal model of…

A preliminary study surveyed peace communication research in speech communication journals, covering the period from World War I through the late 20th century. The Matlon "Index" includes journals approved by the publications board of the Speech Communication Association (SCA) and was used in this project as the database for the period…

Challenges an ideology hidden within the history of rhetoric that privileges one form of the art over another--one approach moves outward toward the social world of public affairs, the other inward toward the center of the human soul. Recounts several "moments" in the creation, repression, and eventual recovery of a rhetoric of the…

Discusses three major accounts (by Philip Meggs, Enric Satue and Richard Hollis) of graphic design history. Notes that these texts address the history of graphic design, but each raises questions about what material to include, as well as how graphic design is both related to and distinct from other visual practices such as typography, art…

The particular way in which songs (and especially the songs of social movements) accumulate persuasive force has been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. This paper investigates the rhetorical power of the popular musical text, "We Shall Overcome," arguing that the song endures as an almost expected rhetorical feature of any social…

In order to discover how the photographic medium has been conceptualized, a study examined all books published in the United States from 1902 to 1960 which are part of the intellectual response to photography and a sample of the periodicals which concern themselves with photography. A critical review of the literature combined with Q methodology…

Examines public address in the post-bellum South (focusing on the years 1865 to 1900) as a form of epideictic speaking, in order to illuminate both the genre and the Southern mind. (SR)

Traces the evolution of the enduring rhetorical genre of apologia from the Greek period to the present. Argues that apologia has undergone significant changes in form because its function has changed throughout history, producing five "subgenres." Examines implications for the continued feasibility of apologia, as well as the critical…

Discusses the results of a study concerning the relationship between agent, author, and matters of fact in the doctrine and practice of classical empiricism in the late 17th century. States that the historical study of empiricism provides a critical perspective on positivism and on social constructivism. (PA)

By analyzing the subject matter of journalism books published in China since 1903, a study reviews the scope and trends of Chinese journalism studies, specifically the post-1949 developments after the Chinese Communist Party came to power. The study analyzes 1,245 titles of journalism books from 1903 to 1985, compiled in the "China Journalism…

Introduces a special issue on critical histories of graphic design with a review of the particular problems identified with the history of graphic design as a field of study and the emerging discipline of graphic design history. Makes a case for the examination of graphic design through its relationships with larger discourses. (SR)

Documents the fruitfulness of the agenda-setting metaphor in communication research via three features: the steady historical growth of its literature; the integration of communication research areas; and the ability to generate new research problems across a variety of communication settings. (SR)

Describes how changes in technical-communication education between 1950 and 1998 have led to disciplinary maturity: the development of academic programs and a body of innovative research. Discusses how technical communication, as a thriving multidiscipline with many direct research and pedagogical connections to the work place, can uniquely…

Discusses Theodore Weld's "American Slavery As It Is," the largest selling antislavery text prior to "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Argues that it signaled a key moment in the abolitionist's efforts to represent slavery. Maintains that it helped to set in place a vocabulary of images that has implications for race relations today. (SR)

Examines the process of "spin control" (in which partisans provide commentary on campaign events) and presents a taxonomy of it. Illustrates how both campaigns used the process in relation to the first 1988 presidential debate. Concludes that the Bush commentary was coordinated with the overall Republican campaign strategy, whereas the…