Discusses Aristotle's five means of making judgments: intelligence, "episteme" (scientific knowledge), "sophia" (theoretical wisdom), "techne" (art), and "phronesis" (practical wisdom). Sets Aristotle's theory of rhetorical argument within the context of his overall view of human judgment. Notes that…

Argues that ideology is a type of rhetoric that escapes, rather than challenges, contradiction through the joint use of false consciousness and rational discourse. Contends that critics necessarily take an ideological position when criticizing ideology, and offers a perspective for overcoming the tendency to advance self-interest as "truth." (SR)

Explores the tension between critical rhetoric's "doxa" and a modernistic "episteme." Develops a revised conception of doxa positioned within a critical rhetoric, which is contrasted to episteme. Advances a conception of prudence (practical wisdom) that uses doxa as its underpinnings. Argues that the actions of the agent may be…

Argues that key documents of the Chicano movement--El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan and El Plan de Santa Barbara--can best be understood through their expression of ideographs. Suggests that these plans were deployed to secure support for the movement and to sustain a particular ideology. Suggests that the plans express the deep cultural roots of the…

Invites rhetorical critics to reappraise the way they study discreet social movements and pay isolated tribute to woman's rights figures. Examines how Mary Wollstonecraft, Margaret Fuller, and Angelina Grimke each co-opted the ideational and stylistic rhetorical characteristics of pre-existing social movements (the enlightenment,…

Argues for a revised perspective on presidential crisis rhetoric informed by an understanding of differing exigencies and functions. Uses speeches by Ronald Reagan to examine two types of crisis rhetoric. Concludes that crisis rhetoric can not be viewed as a homogeneous type of discourse. (MM)

Reviews criticism of Philip Wander's 1983 article, "The Ideological Turn in Modern Criticism." Shows how critics of Wander's "ideological criticism" subscribed to an essentialist notion of rhetoric, adopted a theory of innocent reading, and displayed unexamined prejudices about canonical texts. Urges academic rhetoricians to acknowledge that all…

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)

Argues that Lincoln modeled certain major speeches on a chiasmus, and that this stylistic device governs the integration of form and function in Lincoln's presidential rhetoric. Argues that the chiasmus reveals that Lincoln saw himself as called by God to fulfill a special messianic mission. (MS)

Explains sharp inconsistencies in Edmund Burke's rhetorical abilities by exploring two distinct conceptions of rhetoric: rhetoric as an instrument of prudential reason and as an existential means of constituting oneself. Examines Burke's private correspondence to show how this struggle between rhetorical prudence and rhetorical heroism generated…

Examines the 1982 film "The Year of Living Dangerously" to illustrate how an explicit argument may be implicitly enacted in a rhetorical artifact through a rhetor's rhetorical choices. (MM)

Analyses 42 national final round rhetorical criticism speeches from the years 1993-2000, with results indicating that almost half of the speeches were analyses of rhetorical and organizational campaigns, with criticism of texts, orations, art, technology and legislation rarely being selected as artifacts. Considers how less than two minutes per…

Uses value analysis to examine the rhetoric of a large multinational high-technology organization, focusing on the value-oriented arguments that emerge from the rhetorical strategies utilized in the organization's recruitment and entry level practices. Notes the recurrent rhetorical strategy of stating only the organization's positive values. (MM)

Considers the way in which recent apocalyptic religious discourse motivates actions and attitudes toward secular issues by appealing to sacred texts. Traces one such strategy, termed "transfer." (SR)

Argues that evoking the maternal archetype as a unifying principle to motivate the protection and sustenance of the environment confounds womanhood with motherhood, and fails to honor the complexity of motherhood as an ideologically and socially constructed institution. Maintains that a gender-neutral metaphor may more effectively serve both the…