Considers the consequences of taking political blunders seriously as central objects of electoral discourse. Explores gaffes as possible degradation rituals and as contributions to the definition of the electoral process and to the information needs of voters who must make decisions within that process. (PD)

Discusses how "Twelve Propositions by Kenneth Burke on the Relation between Economics and Psychology" generates a new synthesis of Marx and Freud and foreshadows Burke's system of dramatism. His conception of self, the community, and communication come together in a serious argument for drama as a model of human relations. (JMF)

Examines the work of Hazlitt as a critic of parliamentary oratory. Discusses his standards of rhetorical eloquence and details his critical estimate of parliamentary speaking. Assesses his contribution to the criticism of British public address. (JMF)

Analyzes "The Deer Hunter" in terms of a psychological/ritual model of criticism. Argues that the rhetorical force of the film is explained by men's participation in rituals, such as deer hunting, which affect the patterns of psychological change they experience during and after war. (JMF)

Analyzes the argumentative structure of "...ist" accusations and identifies an array of possible responses to them. Suggests some social implications of this form of argument and alternative responses to it. (JMF)

Examines Elizabeth Cady Stanton's speech, "The Solitude of Self," as a philosophical statement of the principles underlying the nineteenth century struggle for woman's rights in the United States. Analyzes the lyric structure and tone of the speech and its tragic, existential rationale for feminism. (JMF)

Argues that Henry Clay's rhetorical performance during the 1850 compromise debate employed a particular idiom and enacted a particular form of prudential conduct: prudential accommodation. Explores the rhetorical forms and practical limits of this prudential idiom. Helps disclose an alternative prudential idiom--prudential audacity--within the…

Explores the territory of whiteness in order to map the discursive space it occupies, as the first step in the process of exposing whiteness as a rhetorical construction. Discusses some of the rhetorical strategies through which whiteness resecures its discursive space and concludes with three aspects of reflexivity that offer directions for…

Suggests that Garrison Keillor's radio monologues create a preferred spectator position that relies on traditionally feminine competencies. Shows that the monologues refuse to privilege vision, dismantle the male gaze, create Lake Wobegon as a feminine setting, and use feminine speaking style. Argues that Keillor provides an opportunity for…

Discusses two kinds of rhetorical audiences: universal, and particular. Considers the approach a speaker takes regarding the audience type, which is usually a mixture. Discusses how a speaker brings the audience to the desired adherence despite the difference of audience type. (SC)

Argues that rhetorical scholars should recognize resistive reading, strategic ambiguity, and hermeneutic depth as three types of polysemy that support different scholarly purposes. Complicates assumptions about the critical judgment of polysemous texts and suggests that some types of polysemy are best identified through the adoption of a new…

In order to help frame a current theoretical impasse, in this essay we forward the figure of the zombie in Western cinema as an allegory for the reception of the concept of ideology by communication scholars. After noting parallels between (a) an early academic caricature of ideology and the laboring zombie, and (b) the subject of ideological…

Examines the way in which Darwin employed conventional language and conventional religious categories of popular thought to explain and lend credibility to the ideas he advanced in "The Orgin of Species." (MH)

Argues that rhetorical genre must be defined in terms of rhetorical action rather than form or substance. Proposes a conception of rhetorical genre based on conventionalized social motives found in recurrent situations. Points out the implications for rhetorical education: genres help students understand how to participate in community action. (PD)