Compares the environmental rhetoric of former U.S. Interior Secretary James Watt and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, explaining that Watt's political value outweighed his political liability. Notes that cabinet members extend a President's influence by reaching issue-specific audiences while maintaining philosophical consistency, and serve as…

Examines the Smith John case--in which the United States Supreme Court secured official recognition of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw as a tribe--as an example of "rhetorical games" used by different cultural groups to manipulate each other. Suggests alternative rhetorical strategies that would benefit the state and the Mississippi…

Discusses the importance of voice in writing and suggests that the current interest in the writing process encourages students to increase their power of expression without distorting their voice beyond recognition. Includes samples of student writing. (MM)

Discusses the coercive controls imposed upon Blacks during slavery, including regimenting their lives, restricting their learning experiences, limiting their opportunities to communicate, and prescribing demeaning role behavior. Rhetorical strategies employed by Blacks included a defensive posture of accommodation and a more aggressive behavior of…

Analyzes two scientific journal articles from a reader-response perspective. Elaborates the rhetorical nature of scientific discourse and demonstrates that even within the constraints of the journal articles, scientists have considerable freedom to exercise choices. Explicates how writers use cues to direct readers into fictional roles. (MG)

Presents results of a study of the effects on viewers of the first presidential debate in the 1992 election. Compares audience perception of candidates' image with audience gain of issue knowledge. Shows that viewers learned a lot about candidates' issue positions. Claims that Ross Perot's image improved. (HB)

The occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973 by the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) represented a culmination of frustration felt by Native Americans. The news media mocked the occupation and minimized the seriousness of the event. However, the historical significance of the Native American occupation of Wounded Knee, as…

Drawn from talks given at a conference held at the University of New Hampshire in October 1984, the papers in this collection explore the relationship of composition to reading and literature studies. Following an introductory chapter written by Thomas Newkirk, which contains background information about that relationship as well as an overview of…

This paper uses an epistemological framework to address the nature of the interactions among authors and responders in professional journals in the context of how such dialog affects the "states-of-the arts." It articulates the rhetorical strategies in four logics-in-use relating to posited epistemological domains, as well as…

Nukespeak--euphemisms or jargon that serve to hide the horrific nature of nuclear weapons systems and nuclear war--uses the strategies of domestication and bureaucratization to represent itself to the public. Domestication employs everyday language to introduce nuclear concepts into public discourse in a non-threatening manner, as when President…

An examination of the rhetoric of two social movements in the United States--the proslavery movement of the pre-Civil War Period and the anti-feminist movement of the 1970s--reveals that both contain a common theme, paternalism, and that both use similar rhetorical strategies to explicate the theme through a familial metaphor, Father. Examples of…

A systematic review of 3 years of popular magazines sought to determine if articles are published that constitute rhetorical criticism of the mass media. The survey revealed that rhetorical criticism was published in a wide variety of popular magazines, but was not labelled as such. Television (TV) was the focus of most of these critical analyses,…

This paper describes a graduate course at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, entitled "The Electronic Church, with an Emphasis on Its Evangelists." The paper addresses some of the ways in which criticism is taught via the television evangelists. Following a mini-course in speech analysis, the course focuses on the various aspects…

Using Toulmin's model of argument as its methodology, this paper analyzes the arguments employed by Lee Iacocca, chief executive officer of Chrysler Corporation, to persuade the United States Congress to provide backing for loans necessary for the corporation's financial survival in 1979-1980. After delineating the three main claims made by…

Prepared by scholars from four countries, the 63 papers in this collection address recent developments and recurrent problems in the theory, practice, criticism, and teaching of argumentation. Following the texts of two keynote addresses, the papers are presented according to eight broad categories: argumentation theory, historical and political…