Examines the experimental program initiated by Albert Michelson at the end of the nineteenth century through a literary analysis of its reception. Provides various interpretations of the failed experiments by science commentators over a period of decades. (HB)

Investigates the uses of the rhetorical strategy of identification by John McPhee in his novel, "Coming into the Country." Describes the technique articulated by Kenneth Burke as identification. Identifies three of Burke's techniques in McPhee's prose. (HB)

Explores the concept of a rhetoric of textual feminism. Defines the concept and discusses its functions by citing Virginia Woolf and Kenneth Burke. Argues that a rhetoric of textual feminism reveals the emotional, and critiques Woolf's "Three Guineas" to reread the emotional. (HB)

Points out that the revolt by Wordsworth and Coleridge against neoclassic literary convention gave context to many of their ideas about discourse. Shows how their shift in attitude toward language may be the source of their greatest contribution to discourse theory. (EL)

Reviews and equates theories of reader-response and rhetorical theories on audience response (the pathos principle). Concludes that the fundamental synonymity between them represents a significant bridge between analysis of literary texts and the dynamics of formal and social discourse and provides a theoretical foundation for teaching reading and…

Discusses inference and allusion in the dialogue in Plato's Sophist. Examines the sense in which a locution is used, distinguishing among senses of the verb to be, and sets the ball rolling for the development of logic and the whole metaphysics of categories of being. (RAE)

Argues that I. A. Richards established the basic argument for developing a truly new rhetoric and identified major critical components needed to formulate a rhetoric for the twenty-first century. Discusses multiplicity in meaning, speculative instruments, and metaphor. (PRA)

Discusses whether Burke is the implacable American or the embodiment of the major "isms" in European literary, rhetorical, and social thought. (FL)

Argues that an important part of the classical tradition defines rhetoric as an internal way of knowing and investigating one's culture. Asserts that classical rhetoric's goals move toward a sense of personal responsibility for language and audience. Calls for an emphasis upon such responsibility in modern public debate. (SG)

Examines how Romantic psychology and subsequent literary theory devalued texts that were ostensibly factual rather than fictional. Argues that nonfiction literature--the literature of fact--is as rich and valuable as fiction. Explores Peter Matthiessen's "The Snow Leopard" to show how a reader can become aesthetically immersed in a…

Examines the "ethos" (the perceived trustworthiness of authors by readers) gained for Charles Darwin by means of the interpersonal metadiscourse he used in two chapters of the "Origin of Species." Concludes that Darwin used metadiscourse to create an "ethos" for his readers that informs, impresses, and wins them over…

Argues that "divisio," an Aristotelian topic which entails partitioning a subject into components, is neglected by rhetoricians. Suggests that divisio empowers by creating knowledge and naming things but de-powers by creating absences and blocking creative alternatives. Notes that rhetoric strives for a balance between divisio and its…

Argues that the future tense underlies both literary criticism and the discipline of rhetoric as conceived by Aristotle and that Aristotle gives the argumentative arts a middle ground which makes them distinct and yet weds them inextricably with those claiming greater or lesser degrees of generality. (RAE)

Demonstrates a recent trend in rhetorical criticism which associates subjectivity with location. Develops the concept of "ethos" as a "site" and shows how recent feminist writers locate ethos at the margins of discourse. Suggests places where responsible writers negotiate and contract ethos. (HB)

Suggests how teachers of writing can use the concepts of Kenneth Burke to revise discussions about words and thereby better empower the "wordlings" they teach. Argues for a Burkean concept of writing as a psycholinguistic, sociocultural process to be used in the writing classroom. (HB)