Fleshes out a model of hysterical discourse, and applies it to an analysis of the charges and countercharges of "environmentalist hysteria." Gives special attention to the book that drew the earliest accusations of hysteria, Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." (SR)

Argues that identifying Gorgias's "Helen" as an epideictic speech is misleading; the speech is not veiled defense of the "Art of Rhetoric"; Gorgias may have inaugurated the prose genre of encomia; and "Helen"'s most significant theoretical contribution is to offer a secular account of the workings of the logos that…

Discusses Theodore Weld's "American Slavery As It Is," the largest selling antislavery text prior to "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Argues that it signaled a key moment in the abolitionist's efforts to represent slavery. Maintains that it helped to set in place a vocabulary of images that has implications for race relations today. (SR)

Discusses and responds to Thomas Farrell's book "Norms of Rhetorical Culture," a book which reconsiders Aristotle while also contending with powerful currents in contemporary social theory. Suggests that the book provides a template for the construction of rhetorical theory. (SR)

Discusses and responds to Thomas Farrell's book "Norms of Rhetorical Culture," a book which reconsiders Aristotle while also contending with powerful currents in contemporary social theory. Argues that Farrell advances his case through discursive maneuvers that will be credible only for those who already share Farrell's commitments and…

Discusses and responds to Thomas Farrell's book "Norms of Rhetorical Culture," a book which reconsiders Aristotle while also contending with powerful currents in contemporary social theory. Suggests that rhetoric needs to transcend Farrell by locating his norms at one pole of a shared existence. (SR)

Examines the dynamics of "dialectical disorientation," a rhetorical form that creates ambiguity through confrontation between competitive but complementary orientations. Applies the form to the Vietnam War movies "The Deer Hunter,""Apocalypse Now,""Platoon," and "Full Metal Jacket." Observes that…

This essay provides a rhetorical analysis of the "Wilkomirski" Affair and some of the recent public debates that have discussed the importance of childhood memoirs and the formation of authentic Holocaust identities. The author argues that rhetorical processes are involved in both the construction of what are deemed "authentic" memoirs and the…

Examines Jimmy Carter's addresses to the American people focusing on the symbolic form of his language, the conceptions of the audience, and the ethical dimensions of his words. (MH)

Recounts a seeming "prophecy" made during George Washington's youth by the Reverend Samuel Davies, the prominent Presbyterian proponent of the Great Awakening. Investigates how American eulogists drew upon this "prophecy" to give validity and vitality to George Washington's legend. (MH)

Analyzes selected speeches by feminists active in the early Afro-American protest, revealing differences in their rhetoric and that of White feminists of the period. Argues that a simultaneous analysis and synthesis is necessary to understand these differences. Illustrates speeches by Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Mary Church Terrell. (JD)

Based principally on personal observations and on interviews with journalists and Kennedy staff members, this study analyzes the 1980 Kennedy campaign and focuses on (1) communicative considerations that affected the campaign; (2) stylistic characteristics that exemplified Kennedy's rhetorical problems; and (3) rhetorical highlights of two of his…

Examines sport as a separate sphere of social reality and the general ethic of team sport. Considers the circumstances that prompt sport figures' apologiae, describes the materials they incorporate in their public defenses, and offers generalizations to explain these conventions. (PD)