Traces the evolution of the enduring rhetorical genre of apologia from the Greek period to the present. Argues that apologia has undergone significant changes in form because its function has changed throughout history, producing five "subgenres." Examines implications for the continued feasibility of apologia, as well as the critical…

Elucidates the historical inquiry into Anglo-American mass communication studies. Argues that they can be reduced to three versions: mass communication research, the New Left, and the cultural version. Shows how the field's history writing has been caught in complex ways in its inner developments and paradigmatic struggles. (SR)

Analyzes Alexander Richardson's clothing metaphors which connected Ramist precepts to social values and philosophic assumptions drawn from the fields of fashion, psychology, and Puritan theology. Describes how these metaphors presented the Puritan community with an orientation toward listening and inculcated the Puritan speech community with…

It has been said that the contribution of Franz Rosenzweig and Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy to the social sciences is their understanding of speech and time. Rosenstock-Huessy criticized modern communication theory because it assumes that one communicates to express thought, claiming instead that because speech necessitates the presence of a listener,…

Shows why truthfulness, because of its link to spirituality, was the foremost standard for speech in ancient India, and how its practice was defined, emphasizing the consequences of truthfulness and deceit for speakers themselves. Considers possible contributions to current rhetorical and ethical studies. (SR)

The history of the basic course in speech communication in college shows that it has maintained a continued emphasis on public speaking and that change has been slow. A review of the literature revealed that the course has been typically viewed as a public speaking course taught in self-contained sections with one instructor responsible for…

The seeds of mass communication research in broadcasting were extracurricular, not academic, inspired by experimental campus radio stations. Prior to the mid-1930s, radio research was scarce. Until World War II, radio speech was the most important topic, followed by articles on how to use radio for improving instruction. There are three…

Examines Black Americans' attempts in the 1960s to achieve legitimacy and <equality>, defined as ideological commitment to promote "sameness" and "identity" explicitly through rhetoric of control. Investigates how the culturetypal rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the counter-culture rhetoric of Malcolm X…

Provides a brief sketch of key historical and political conditions that led to the 1973 protests at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, by Native Americans. Demonstrates how the discursive strategies of the protestors both reflect the influence of context and reveal the significance of rhetoric's role in revitalizing culture. Considers implications for…

Presidents can inspire, exhort, and lift their fellow citizens to new levels of hope and moral purpose. Presidents have with varying degrees of success presented visions that helped many citizens transcend the despair of economic depression, the horrors of war, or the brutality of racial violence. Presidents have used their powerful tools of…