Explores the rhetorical factors which underlie this British film's extraordinary popularity with American audiences. Argues that the rhetorical force of the film comes from the struggle between moralism and materialism, two aspects of the American Dream, thus providing a uniquely powerful American experience. (PD)

Analyzes the purpose, strategy and style of four of Cicero's publicly-oriented letters and concludes that these differ substantially from both his orations and private correspondence. (MH)

Demonstrates that, because of certain elements of the rhetorical situation in which "Kent State" was presented and because of the nature of its composition, the docudrama functioned to purify the image of Bill Schroeder, one of the four students killed on the Kent State University campus on May 4, 1970. (PD)

Employs a critical application of Kenneth Burke's notions of form and perspectivism. Argues for the potential of a complementary relationship between form and perspectivism in the appeal of rhetorical artifacts. Claims that form is perspectival, limiting possibilities for appropriate interpretations within a text. Applies this theoretical…

Focuses on the 1992 film "City of Joy" to examine the rhetorical strategies through which "whiteness" is enacted in popular culture. Argues that an understanding of the politics through which non-white groups are culturally marginalized simultaneously requires an examination of the politics through which whites are centered and…

Examines the rhetoric of "The Big Book," the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), using fantasy theme analysis. Suggests that the rhetorical vision of AA may be described as Alcoholism as Treatable Illness of Body, Mind, and Soul; a variation of Bormann's rhetorical form "Fetching Good out of Evil." (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…

Cites evidence of Gothic strains in eighteenth-century rhetorical practice. Uses a narrative account by Edmund Burke to illustrate representative Gothic themes, images, and strategies. Judges the Gothic voice to be significant as an instance of the ways in which general aesthetic sensibilities are deployed for rhetorical ends. (MS)

Uses fantasy theme analysis to examine how the women's movement rose from early small-group interaction to high visibility and acceptance by the public. Focuses on two organizations from 1967-77: the Twin Cities Female Liberation Group and the National Organization for Women, Twin Cities chapter. (PD)

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,…

Examines Senator George McGovern's speech, "Sources of Our Strength," delivered at Wheaton College, Illinois in 1972 and contends that this address reveals the motivation underlying his bid for the Presidency. (MH)

Argues that the 1848 and 1963 feminist social movements are one rhetorical movement and that feminism as a rhetorical movement is typified by an ideological conflict between the concepts of "womanhood" and "personhood," summed up by the term "consciousness raising." (PD)

States that John F. Kennedy, in his 1960 speech to Houston ministers, convinced many voters that, as a Catholic president, he would act independently of the Catholic Church in matters such as federal aid to schools, human reproduction, and religious tolerance. Analyzes arguments he used to distance himself from the Vatican and align himself with…

Examines the 1984 party platforms from the perspective of Walter Fisher's narrative paradigm. Concludes that though the two party's narratives followed different strategies, they both displayed the internal consistency required by Fisher's perspective as they reflected transcendent values that were both relevant to and consistent with party…