Examines public address in the post-bellum South (focusing on the years 1865 to 1900) as a form of epideictic speaking, in order to illuminate both the genre and the Southern mind. (SR)

Explores the diverse forms and motives of the conversational frame in public address. Argues that, by framing their remarks and transactions with their listeners as conversational, orators may attempt to reconstruct or seem to reconstruct speaker-audience relationships and to position themselves and their audiences within networks of reciprocal…

Presents demographics about gender and ethnicity of debate directors, debate coaches, and debaters in the Cross Examination Debate Association's National Tournament from 1991-2000. Considers that although there has been an increase in the numbers of females and minorities debating, there has also been a decline in the numbers of females directing…

Examines arguments used in three United Nations Security Council debates which contradict the conclusion that different nations use different argumentative forms and think differently. Finds that the nature of data and the relative emphasis on principle as a negotiating strategy were more characteristic factors. (MS)

The 1988 vice presidential campaign became a quagmire for Dan Quayle and the National Republican Party. To regain their footing and rehabilitate Quayle, the Republicans adopted two classic strategies for coping (often studied in the academy): rhetorical apologia and minimal exposure. During the campaign, an accusation was made that Quayle used his…

An updated version of a bibliography which appeared in a 1982 edition of "Rhetoric Society Quarterly," this 132-item bibliography is divided into books and articles and book chapters. The selections date from 1933 through 1989. (NKA)

Examines Kathleen Hall Jamieson's theory of "eloquence in the electronic age." Explores "The Art of Public Speaking," finding that it takes little account of the latest developments in rhetorical theory and changes in expectations of public speaking and eloquence. Suggests how public speaking texts might uphold the classical virtues of eloquence…

This paper presents an examination of United States presidents' names as symbols. In developing the analysis, the paper: (1) reviews multiple perspectives which suggest that allusions to past presidents (such as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, or Franklin Roosevelt) are significant political symbols; (2) discusses how allusions to past…

Henry Ward Beecher was America's most prominent 19th century liberal preacher and a major spokesperson for New England Transcendentalism. His philosophy integrated four fundamental themes: the creation of a moral code based on the internalization of values and peer group pressures, the establishment of the reform ideal of the impartial nonpartisan…

Analyzes two of the earliest known speeches by United States women, Priscilla Mason's 1793 salutatory oration and Deborah Sampson Gannett's 1802 lecture tour. Suggests that the conflict between justifying their violation of taboos and speaking in ways appropriate to the occasion (and to their sex) limited their ability to produce coherent works of…

Traditionally, the study of public address has meant the study of great speakers, focusing on individual speech texts, or the speaking careers of individual orators. So dominant was this traditional study of public address that, in its halcyon decades of the l930s, 1940s, and 1950s, it all but eliminated other approaches to rhetorical criticism.…

Uses recent work in literary criticism to examine the structure of religious discourse. Suggests religious discourse is the use of a certain rhetorical style that conforms to certain rules of underlying structure, but which communicates only to the extent that this structure is appropriate for the application in question. (MS)

Examines the "Evagoras" from the perspective of contemporary narrative theory, inquiring into internal adjustments that the encomium underwent as epideitic rhetoric sought to play a role in state affairs. Claims uniqueness for the narrative structure of Isocrates's encomium: a combination of fictional narrative (quest for virtue) with…

Part of a larger investigation of the rhetorical character of the presidencies of Harry Truman through Jimmy Carter, this report concentrates on the presidents' linguistic styles and their semantic choices. The first half of the report discusses the background of the study and the development of a computerized language analysis…

This index to journals in communication studies published through 1979 is divided into three sections. The first section lists the major articles appearing in 14 journals: (1) "The Quarterly Journal of Speech," (2) "Communication Monographs," (3) "Communication Education," (4) "Southern Speech Communication…