In the period from 1950 to the present, there has been a progressive realization of the rhetorical character of scientific and technical discourse, rendering such discourse subject to formal rhetorical study. Audience is now seen as a formative influence on discourse. Technical writing must be tailored to audiences, not simply in terms of…

Ronald Reagan's rise from political neophyte to Republican candidate for governor of California in 1966 was characterized by a public relations strategy, which was bolstered by "The Speech," a 30-minute anti-big government, defense-of-freedom message. He presented this message appropriately to each audience to identify himself with…

This booklet discusses the development of science fiction, tracing its origins to the time of the industrial revolution. Many of the people of this time realized that life was changing and would continue to change, that there were new forces at work in the world, and that humankind should exercise some forethought about the direction in which…

In this paper the writer attempts to derive and apply a theory of validity for inductive or probable argumentation. The following definition of rhetorical validity is proposed: an argument is valid when, in an adversarial situation, the degree of certainty claimed by (or for) a conclusion is less than or equal to that established by its related…

One of the Afro-American writers who spoke out clearly during the postreconstruction period was Albery A. Whitman (1851-1902). A romantic poet, Whitman produced seven volumes of poetry. His profound belief in freedom and equality for his race is expressed forcefully in two long narrative poems, "Not a Man and Yet a Man" and "The…

The purposes of this study were to determine what specific types of criticism students perceive as being most helpful, whether student perceptions of helpfulness in different types of criticism vary according to individual levels of speech anxiety or exhibitionism, and whether student perceptions of helpfulness in different types of criticism vary…

Discusses how students' strained metaphors and odd juxtapositions in writing literary analysis papers can reveal fresh perspectives on the literature being studied. (DD)

Examines Aristotle's "Rhetoric" and concludes that it is one of his weakest works--of little use to the technical student interested in communication. (NKA)

Discusses three strands in the general area of the "crisis in English studies": the notion of generic "man" and the study of humanities, the idea of literature as a tradition, and the sacredness of text. (AEA)

When teachers work to create empathy that transfers or translates the experience of the other into an experience an individual has had, they promote a kind of egotism that dismisses the other or that reduces the other to the category of the self. The key problem with empathy of this sort is that the focus is not on the other, but on the self. The…

For one Fulbright lecturer teaching Herman Melville's novel "Benito Cereno" at the University of Tunis (North Africa), the setting appeared to be ideal for a United States novel course. "Benito Cereno", for the most part, takes place on a large ship carrying slaves. Eventually, the slaves revolt against their Spanish masters…

The idea of experience needs to be examined before the experiential aspect of literary reading can be understood, and before literary reading as an ethical practice can properly be defined. Open-mindedness is necessary when fostering student interpretations of a literary text, just as it is necessary for accepting the varying life experiences of…

The predominance of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies in Western culture has affected theories of rhetoric and gender in related ways and set the stage for two millennia of misogyny based on the rhetorical construction of women as "naturally" inferior beings who thus had no ontological right to engage in the dominant…

This paper examines online corporate university artifacts to bring to light additive definitions of literacy. Rhetorical analysis in the paper shows four claims made about literacy in the corporate university artifacts: literacy is knowing the corporate culture; literacy provides immediate and quantifiable benefits; literacy is easily accessible…

Although argument in its ideal form is central to the study of rhetoric, controversy in the real world also needs to be addressed in the classroom. The author reports on his study of the Overton Park expressway controversy, which produced a landmark Supreme Court decision on environmental policy. (PD)