Does rhetoric have a place in the discourse of human rights? Without certain reply, as the dilemmas of defining, claiming, and promoting human rights appear both to include and exclude the rhetorical gesture, this question invites inquiry into the preface of the contemporary human rights regime, the moment of the aftermath that provokes a struggle…

An area of visual communication that might be classified as a "design failure" is the visual presentation of information about "prescription-only medicines" for patients. This information is provided on packaging, leaflets, brochures, labels and websites. The practical issue is that there are problems in convincing patients to…

Since narrative forms help provide the rules and contexts for guiding human behavior, film and television offer excellent sources for the study of rhetoric in the college classroom. Kenneth Burke, Ernest Bormann, and Erving Goffman are all theorists, working from a "dramaturgical" perspective, who disuccuss the powerful role of the media…

Demonstrates a recent trend in rhetorical criticism which associates subjectivity with location. Develops the concept of "ethos" as a "site" and shows how recent feminist writers locate ethos at the margins of discourse. Suggests places where responsible writers negotiate and contract ethos. (HB)

Argues that meaning in a rhetorical work results from an interaction between discursive form and representational content linguists call "iconicity." Illustrates this approach through close analysis of passages selected from Edmund Burke's "Speech to the Electors of Bristol." Considers applications in broader contexts. (KEH)

Examines the fluctuating dialectic between object and method in three parts: (1) detailed reading of Herbert Wichelns' founding essay; (2) discussion of three influential responses to this dialectic by Ernest Wrage, Samuel Becker, and Edwin Black; and (3) analysis of Michael Leff's and Michael McGee's attempt to reconnect object and method. (KEH)

Responds to the essays and critiques in this special issue. Evaluates the arguments by Michael Leff and Michael McGee and suggests that choosing between them is not inevitable. Analyzes Dilip Gaonkar's appraisal of McGee and incorporates the observations of J. Robert Cox and Celeste Condit when discussing Leff's position. (KEH)

Reviews recent depictions of metadiscourse and challenges the most prominent approach by blurring the distinction between primary and secondary discourse. Investigates metadiscourse as enacted in Western and Chinese rhetorical contexts. Argues that metadiscourse be located in local, rhetorical contexts. (HB)

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…

Students must learn to maintain authority over their texts as they attempt to deal with the chaos they encounter when they approach a writing task. The authority with which Jacques Derrida deals with chaos in his essay, "...That Dangerous Supplement," suggests some strategies. In his essay, Derrida seems to be able to move the reader…

Outlines the development and final form of Kenneth Burke's notion of the Preconscious and integrates it with his dramatistic method. Explains how that integration supplements previous critical insights into the immediate and long-term effects of Jonathan Edwards' powerful sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." (SR)

Describes the historical, cultural, and mythic contexts that infuse the territorial exclusionary practices of surfers. Analyzes surfers' rhetorical responses in letters published in surfing magazines, describing how rhetors use economic and religious metaphors to position ideologies that both reproduce and mediate cultural myths of perfection…

It seems that this paper, as if it were some textual Elvis, by the author's own admission has eluded him. With the set of commas included in the title of the paper, it is not clear whether 2 or 3 people are being referred to. The paper's first version took Bakhtin as the reigning monarch of English studies and applied his complicated and…

Noting that discussions about the interaction of science and politics are often heard, this paper addresses how these discursive arenas are defined and distinguished. It argues that political and scientific discourse may be distinguished by the roles they assume on the rhetorical stage, and the relevant roles which emerge are implementers and…