Studies indicate that there is a general lack of availability and use of women's speeches in college speech curricula. By incorporating more women's speeches as models, instructors of the basic course in speech can present a more complete picture of American public speaking while also encouraging women in these classes to feel less muted in their…

A study investigated the national status of graduate degree programs in Performance Studies in 1990. Of the 37 institutions offering master's of doctoral degrees in oral interpretation who were sent surveys, 22 (59%) responded. Results indicated (1) the loss of graduate programs was problematic; (2) some scholars had difficulty with securing…

The intent of a liberal education is to enhance the student's freedom, the faculty of intentional choice. The capacity of humans to step outside of themselves, which allows development of self-concept and subsequently self-esteem, is potentiated by the humans' unique sign, the symbol. Each of the liberal arts is concerned with the development and…

Communication instructors rely on textbook writers to present the latest course content in ways that will motivate students to learn and prepare them for class discussion and activities. Targeting the works they create to reflect student needs and shaping their materials to stimulate and involve their readers, these textbook writers-as-artists…

The gulf between scholarly applications and rhetorical praxis in the speech classroom is enormous. It seems clear that the theoretical base will never release its stranglehold on the classical paradigm until the agendas of basic course classrooms do so as well. No new paradigm may realistically hope to contest the established tradition until the…

Forensic coaches can follow certain strategies to best instruct new recruits. The novice should be encouraged: (1) to check the particular rules for each tournament; (2) to stick with traditional oratory forms--innovation can come later; (3) to watch "60 Minutes" or the evening news--excellent sources of timely topics; (4) to avoid…

Observing that speech communication, by whatever term it is called, is now a popular major among the traditional liberal arts, this paper proposes an essential speech communication curriculum for the small, comprehensive college. The first part of the paper presents a rationale for the curriculum by exploring how the curriculum reflects (1) its…

Noting that speech instruction as a liberal study must include significant subject matter, rigorous intellectual application, high ethical standards, and responsibility, this paper describes the humanities core course at Allegheny College (Pennsylvania) as providing such a climate for speech instruction. The paper first describes the course goals…

A study investigated the time honored notion that students who successfully complete a basic course in public speaking will experience less anxiety about speech situations, and will have significantly different emotional reactions to potential public speaking situations. Scales to measure communication apprehension, speech anxiety, and pleasure,…

Several forms of journal writing, both graded and ungraded and serving different purposes, were used to enhance instruction and outcomes of a basic course in oral communication. In-class journals, written in the first five minutes of class and intended to stimulate thought rather than to practice correct writing, were on a topic assigned by the…

The key element to the survival of speech communication and its status in academe is the basic course, which tells the academic community what speech communication is and what it can produce in terms of observable student behavior. This basic course, upon which many communication departments depend, must produce students who are obviously trained…

Based on his own experiences with public speaking courses, the instructor of a speech communication course for adults brings students to the task of speaking in front of the room gradually to reduce speech anxiety or communication apprehension. During successive class sessions, students speak sitting in their seats, standing beside their seats,…

Public relations education is frequently criticized as being misdirected and incapable of imparting necessary job skills. This essay argues that contemporary public relations training overemphasizes print journalism at the expense of managerial skills and social science theory. Further, traditional justifications for journalism-based public…

Aided by her advisor, a communication apprehensive college senior majoring in speech communication at a small rural college developed a project designed to help herself and other apprehensives through cognitive modification. Six students enrolled in a speech communication course who were classified as communication apprehensive by the Personal…

A survey attempted to determine whether forensics participants operate under a contest-oriented ethic, an educational standard, or a more general rhetorical standard of ethics. Subjects were 63 judges and 98 contestants in rhetorical events at the American Forensic Association's (AFA) National Individual Events Tournament in April 1982. A…