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…

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)

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)

Discusses post-modern literary criticism in terms of a sophistic non-Aristotelian, non-disciplinary rhetorical tradition which may be styled "antibody rhetoric," a complementary remedy to the orthodox philosophical, metadisciplinary rhetoric. Envisions this dialectic as a longstanding comic/tragic polarity, with the "antibody…

Presents a rhetorical criticism of Watson and Crick's "The Double Helix." (FL)

Makes the case that sophistic rhetoric is a mirage which vaporizes once carefully scrutinized. Believes that the practice of reproducing incoherent historical concepts is pedagogically unsound, and alternatives should be considered. Suggests specific alternative appropriations that allow educators to retain the best contributions of sophistic…

Reviews recent depictions of metadiscourse and challenges the most prominent approach by blurring the distinction between primary and secondary discourse. Investigates metadiscourse as enacted in Western and Chinese rhetorical contexts. Argues that metadiscourse be located in local, rhetorical contexts. (HB)

Discusses feminist composition theories' tenets concerning process and product. Suggests that much feminist theory assumes a stable, homogenized "woman" and that such "identity politics" present costs that feminist compositionists may not be ready to pay. Reviews the essentialist dilemma and suggests ways of reconfiguring it.…