Criticizes empirical research on the use of evidence in argument for producing ambiguous and contradictory findings. Notes specifically the failure to provide precise conceptualizations and operationalizations for the evidence construct. Cites definitional problems and methodological considerations which contribute to the inadequacy of past…

Surveys the structure of different types of short films. Analyzes the short film as a rhetorical entity and considers production techniques and patterns of distribution. (PD)

Examines how, in the 1920s and 1930s, birth control advertisements (prolific and illegal) conflicted with the arguments for birth-control legalization. Applies M. Bakhtin's grotesque and classical categories and M. Douglas's pollution metaphors to analyze the language birth-control advocates used to distinguish between medical and nonmedical…

Analyzes Fisher Ames' fiery speech of 1796 on the Jay Treaty. Demonstrates the influence of Scottish enlightenment thinkers (particularly in moral sense philosophy and faculty psychology) on Ames and his rhetoric. Demonstrates how Ames made a compelling case to shift the standard of political judgment from reason to passion. (SR)

Examines how the timing of Virginia's Ratification Convention twisted the principles of presumption and burden of proof in favor of the Federalists. Applies Richard Whately's rhetorical constructs to actual debates to analyze rhetorical strategies and voting behavior. Argues the need to modify the meaning of presumption and burden of proof. (KEH)

Compares three television networks' treatments of "A New Beginning" (a Reagan campaign film shown at the 1984 Republican National Convention) and examines the effects on viewers of one network's critical preview of the film. Assesses the uses and limitations of rhetorical criticism in television coverage of political campaigns. (SR)

Advocates using debate with F.R. Stockton's "The Lady, or the Tiger" to sharpen critical skills in literary interpretation. Poses a series of questions at five-minute intervals and sets up an affirmative and a negative side on which students debate the next day. Suggests also debating on literary values, an author's intentions, etc. (PA)

Alan Block's (2004) major criticism of the authors' study revolves around the notion that they have attempted to quantify their students' sense of calling in an existentially inauthentic, spiritually delimiting way. For, as he puts it, "identifications of presence are impossible." The authors cannot accept this pronouncement if only for the simple…

The ability to critically evaluate whether information presented actually supports a given claim is essential for cognitive and social development. This paper presents a study focusing on developmental and contextual aspects of this ability (called antilogos). We tested antilogos for different variables: age group (Grades 8 and 10), direction of…

Noting that college students in the 1990s are once again becoming interested in religious/spiritual phenomena, this analysis of religious humanism as persuasive discourse first touches upon the event-filled 1960s and 70s, which saw social unrest and turbulent change, much of it emanating from university students. As background, the analysis points…

Beliefs about distinct differences between expressive and academic discourse unnecessarily complicate the teaching of writing. A composition pedagogy which fails to attend to the complications arising from the rhetorical aspect of language leads to the promotion of reasoning as separable from context. Reasoning then becomes a skill to be learned…

The classical concept of "ethos" (the establishing of the speaker or writer's credibility, his or her moral character) has acquired many meanings over the centuries and has played an important role in determining the many shifting perceptions of the teacher's role, both in the classical period and the modern period. The issue can be…

Theodore H. White's "The Making of the President 1960" is widely acknowledged to be a classic of contemporary political history. Using the concepts of Northrop Frye, a study examined the narrative structure of White's work and contends that the book's power derives from its form as a quest story in a high mimetic mode. As such, the book…

The speed with which the Whigs and Tories recognized the mythical value of events of March 5, 1770, provides students of rhetoric with an example of how violent confrontation can be used for political purposes. Analysis of eye witness accounts of what history has named the Boston Massacre--including an original account of the event by the town of…

Rhetoricians since Plato's day have been concerned with how much knowledge speakers should possess in order to speak effectively as well as ethically. The expert, like anyone, can err, but the chance of factual error decreases when speakers have a thorough grasp of their subject matter. However, the expertise position can potentially become a…