Whilst technology may have been the 'saviour' of HE from the immediate challenges of the pandemic, the opportunistic dialogue emerging in response is imbued with notions of the pandemic as a catalyst for change. Empowered by the apparent success of technology's deliverance, the door has been opened to unprecedented investment into a pervasive and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the diverse definitions of sustainability in higher education, focusing on the rhetorical uses of the term among various institutions within the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Design/methodology/approach: The paper begins with an overview of the term…

The New Rhetoric project featured an eleven-year collaboration between Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca and Chaim Perelman, which culminated with their 1958 magnum opus, "Traite de l'argumentation: la nouvelle rhetorique". Scholars have long speculated about Olbrechts-Tyteca's role in the New Rhetoric project and her relationship with Chaim Perelman.…

Popular discourse and advocacy efforts characterize homelessness as a social problem bound by the present-centered concerns of physical affliction and material deprivation. Wayne Powers's documentary film "Reversal of Fortune" exemplifies this tendency by performing a "social experiment" to investigate how giving a homeless man $100,000 would…

Researchers studying technology development often examine how rhetorical activity contributes to technologies' design, implementation, and stabilization. This article offers a possible methodology for studying one role of rhetorical activity in technology development: knowledge consolidation analysis. Applying this method to an exemplar case, the…

Purpose: This paper aims to discuss why there is often a gulf of difference between policy rhetoric and reality. In particular, the paper seeks to explore issues with the policy rhetoric, implementation process and the lens through which reality is perceived, explaining why these issues can open up a policy rhetoric-reality gap. This article also…

An area of visual communication that might be classified as a "design failure" is the visual presentation of information about "prescription-only medicines" for patients. This information is provided on packaging, leaflets, brochures, labels and websites. The practical issue is that there are problems in convincing patients to…

This paper explores the philosophical foundations and implications of fantasy theme analysis, introduced by Ernest B. Bormann in 1972. The paper rejects the appropriation of fantasy theme analysis as compatible with, or as support for the philosophical position of relativism and relativist rhetorical theories. Rather, it suggests that fantasy…

Argues that 19th-century "declarative"/"reiterative" rhetoric derives theoretical authorization from the 82nd "Athenaum Fragment" of Friedrich Schlegel. Analyzes content and rhetorical structure of Schlegel's polemical/reiterative rejection of "philosophical and scientific demonstration." Discusses the…

Argues that rhetoric belongs to a class of theories that tend not to become outmoded, and presents examples of effective rhetoric from ancient Greece. Suggests that rhetorical theories should be judged on their own terms rather than on the standards of an allied discipline. (KEH)

Explores the essentialist influences on the public sphere from a feminist perspective, suggesting that an essentialist ideology informs the public/private distinction. Argues that the public sphere is not strictly a result of historical changes or economic influences but is also dependent on an essentialist view of women and men. (PA)

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…

Considers issues in rhetorical epistemology whose significance transcends religious communication and commitment. Examines consensus-based epistemology as a model for understanding religious belief. Discusses the implications of Jeffery Bineham's position for rhetorical criticism (presented in a previous article in this issue) as well as the…

Explores whether continuity or discontinuity is more appropriate to describe the particular relation between Aristotle's theory or rhetoric and Stuart Hall's ideology theory. Argues for inclusion of ideology theory within the rhetorical canon. Suggests that, if Aristotle's rhetorical theory belongs in the canon, Hall's theory also belongs because…

Argues that by rereading Helene Cixous's "The Laugh of Medusa" as a rhetoric--that is, an essay which posits what can and must be done by women if they are to intervene effectively in the public sphere through written or oral discourse--both rhetorical and feminist theory and criticism are enriched. (SR)