Describes a writing assignment to help students develop the capacity to anticipate and deal with the counter arguments of a skeptical reading audience, in which classmates offer rebuttals to student position papers. A sample peer review form is included. (HTH)

Examines Rockwell's "Four Freedoms" posters and considers the historical circumstances during which they were mass-distributed. Observes how these paintings that praised the political and religious values of Americans were used to educate the people about the necessity of participation in World War II. (PD)

Focuses on administrators, particularly those at the University of California at Berkeley, and the rhetoric they used in response to student protest. Outlines the major lines of argument that administrators traditionally use and concludes that administrative rhetoric, as genre, is an undemocratic response to protest. (PD)

Provides a classification scheme for recognizing and analyzing the elements of graphic persuasion embodied in political cartoons. (PD)

Discusses Barbara Jordan's keynote address at the 1976 Democratic National Convention which succeeded in pleasing the immediate audience of partisans while not offending the general audience. The success is attributed to Jordan's ability to appeal to two seemingly contradictory sets of values. (JMF)

Reviews a debate among Roman rhetoricians over declamation, an early case study method. Appraises contemporary concerns about the value of case study as a stimulant to problem-solving skills, its ability to imitate realistic circumstances of business and technical writing, and its emphasis on persona and audience along with its deemphasis of the…

Describes the success of the Populist movement in the 1890s, arguing that it provides a case study of the power and limitations of mythic appeals to transcend diverse political ideologies. Argues that Populist extensions of the agrarian myth to encompass industrial laborers, suffragists, and prohibitionists were motivated by political expediency.…

Examines the rhetorical function of the modern American jeremiad as a means to restore social harmony in a time of crisis. Analyzes Robert F. Kennedy's response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Reveals the strengths and limitations of the jeremiad as a response to social crisis. (SR)

Identifies how Americans viewed twentieth-century wars metaphorically as extensions of earlier frontier experience. Traces "social functions" of those metaphors which have become, from an ethical perspective, tragic not only because of their false analogies but also for their lack of worth when compared to other, more responsible…

Argues that President John F. Kennedy's civil rights discourse evidences an important evolutionary pattern marking a transition from legal argument to moral argument. Highlights two speeches as exemplars of this change. Asserts that this analysis is useful in the study of contemporary presidential discourse during times of domestic crisis. (MM)

Argues that the plurality of tensions among the commodified market economy and more heroic traditional norms of excellence engendered "social dramas" in the presentation of the 1984 Winter Olympic games. Applies Turner's narrative phases of social drama in order to appreciate the moments of rhetorical urgency and reflective possibility within the…

Reports on the rationales used by viewers in determining winners and conclusions about televised political campaign debates. Studies responses of 370 viewers of the 1992 presidential and vice presidential debates. Analyzes data and determines trends suggested by the results. (HB)

Considers the linguistic choices of candidates in the 1992 presidential election debates as intending to display presidential character and as suggestive of an ability to satisfy voters' needs. Analyzes the three candidates' dimensions of perceived character and ability to address needs. (HB)

Describes why televised vice presidential debates are worthy of more sustained study. Identifies five purposes of vice presidential debates. Examines critically the 1992 vice presidential debate in light of these purposes. Considers the debate format's effects and the argument strategies of the participants. (HB)

Discusses and problematizes the notion of education as a transformative experience for students and teachers. Recounts the literacy history of the author. Discusses the ongoing tension in American culture between difference and unity, and how this tension has influenced composition theory and practice. (HB)