The edifice metaphor in rhetorical theory

The literature of rhetorical theory reveals a persistent sense of relation between the arts of rhetoric and architecture. The following essay looks first to assumptions of a germinal relation of force between the arts; and next, to assumptions of an analogical relation of form. The latter relation, developed primarily in terms of the “edifice metaphor,” is traced chronologically to the point of its decline among rhetorical theorists of the present century. Concluding suggestions are offered in explanation of the decline of the metaphor, and in affirmation of the need for viable new figures to express the processes of rhetorical disposition.     

Beyond genre theory: The genesis of rhetorical action

In this essay, I contend that traditional genre theory has an important inherent limitation: It assumes that a single controlling characteristic (often, but not exclusively, situation) is responsible for (and explains) the production of a genre of rhetoric. In contrast, the theory of the Genesis of Rhetorical Action holds that four Burkean ratios—scene‐act, purpose‐act, rhetor‐act, and agency‐act—can be employed to explain how rhetorical discourse occurs (invention). After arguing that the theory of the Genesis of Rhetorical Action is a potentially powerful extension of genre theory on conceptual grounds (and noting that published genre studies reveal the limitations of this theory), I provide empirical evidence from the analysis of rhetorical discourse (research on the Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse) to reinforce this argument. A new conception of genre theory is then advocated.     

The elements of the rhetorical theory of Phillips brooks

Sections of the beginning course in oral interpretation—three taught by an experienced faculty member using open‐circuit television facilities supplemented with classroom instruction by graduate assistant instructors having no prior teaching experience, and eleven taught by graduate assistant instructors having various levels of prior teaching experience—were compared for retention of specific course content at the end of a semester's instruction. A positive relationship was displayed between teaching experience level and retention of specific content. Although the television group displayed much higher median test scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with little prior teaching experience, it displayed only slightly higher scores than a control group taught by graduate assistants with moderate experience, and a slightly lower median score than a control group taught by highly experienced graduate assistants.     

Rhetorical theory as message reception: A cognitive response approach to rhetorical theory and criticism

Traditional rhetorical theory tends to adopt the rhetor's point of view, emphasizing invention of rhetorical messages, rather than the audience's reception and interpretation of messages. The audience is ordinarily conceptualized in humanistic rhetorical theory as a target, a source of expectations to guide the rhetor's invention, a means to accomplish the rhetor's ends, or even an obstacle. We argue that a more complete view of rhetoric should include the audience as a potentially active part of the process of persuasion. Accordingly, we propose to supplement our traditional theories of rhetoric by sketching a complementary view of rhetoric as the process of an auditor's processing and responding to messages. The inspiration for this conception, Petty and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model, is sketched, and implications for rhetorical theory and criticism are discussed.     

Campbell's the philosophy of rhetoric and the advancement of rhetorical theory: The integration of philosophical antecedents

George Campbell's The Philosophy of Rhetoric is one of the most significant works of rhetoric in the new‐classical period. Campbell's work provides an example of theory development, for his theory integrates competing psychological/philosophical theories of his era. Campbell's classification aligns the ends of discourse with specific mental faculties: Rhetors enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passions, and influence the will. The philosophy of association underlies the materials for these appeals, utilizing ideas obtained from experience and memory. The foundation for this structure, common sense philosophy, supplies information (i.e., testimony) and assumptions essential to all reasoning. Implications for work on rhetorical theory development are addressed.     

An impulse to exploit: the behavioral turn in data-driven marketing

Industry advocates argue that by tailoring services and commercial solicitations to match media users’ personal interests, data-driven marketing benefits both consumers and businesses. This article shows, however, that advertisers and marketers who are taking up ideas and techniques from behavioral economics tell their clients a very different story about the aims and use of digital marketing and consumer surveillance. Listening in on this discourse demonstrates that some digital marketers conceptualize their own practices as forms of social control, appropriating concepts from behavioral economics to identify consumers’ cognitive and affective biases and target their vulnerabilities. Behavioral economics recognizes that economic decisions are not simply dictated by rational self-interest; rather, such choices depend on cognitive heuristics and habits, and can be manipulated through the design of “choice architecture.” This article discusses implications of the behavioral turn in data-driven marketing for critical advertising scholars, public advocates, and regulators.     

The rhetoric of emerging nationalism: A case study in Irish rhetorical failure

In the 1922 Irish general election campaign, the cause of self‐determination split itself into two opposing groups. While the factions argued, from apparently common ground, they were in reality much different and argued from separate universes of discourse. This polarization and the lack of traditionally democratic methods in the political arena made it difficult to bring about change rhetorically.     

Asking more of Siri and Alexa: feminine persona in service of surveillance capitalism

This paper illuminates how gendered stereotypes can be leveraged to assuage anxieties surrounding artificially intelligent virtual assistants (AI VA). In particular, the analysis shows that these AI objects routinely traffic in normative gender roles of the feminine as caretaker, mother, and wife in order to obfuscate modes of surveillance, and mediate the relationship users and potential users have with late-capitalist market logics in the platform economy. Mobilizing essentialist feminine personas characterized in this paper as “digital domesticity,” artificially intelligent objects orient users to engage productively with surveillance capitalism as natural. To illustrate this relationship between femininity and surveillance, this paper focuses on two case studies of AI VA. The essay turns to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa as emblematic of AI VA that perform a stereotypically feminine persona that invites users to participate in increasingly intimate forms of data exchange that in turn contribute to surveillance capitalism. The study of AI VA, like Siri and Alexa, demonstrates the significant rhetorical capacities of the feminine persona as they are applied to objects with weak (that is, limited) artificial intelligence.     

The village level worker as rhetorician: An adaptation of diffusion theory

Theory building in the area of diffusion innovation has classically overlooked the possibility that, at some point, persuasion as opposed to additional information holds the key to adoption of a new idea. The present discussion articulates and defends this assumption based primarily upon the experience of India with the gram sewak or village level worker.     

On the aesthetic production of atmospheres: the rhetorical workings of biopower at The CELL

Drawing upon Foucault's notion of biopower and Böhme's theory of atmospheres, we analyze The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (The CELL), a nonprofit institution in Denver, Colorado dedicated to preventing terrorism. Specifically, we argue that The CELL rhetorically induces visitors to submit to and actively participate in continuous surveillance by subjecting them to a strategic succession of atmospheres that affectively and emotively enlists their bodies in its cause. This largely material rhetoric utilizes the design aesthetics of controlled movement, simulation, interactivity, and pseudodialogue. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for rhetorical and security studies.     

The passive style of rhetorical crisis management: A case study of the superfund controversy

While there is a large literature that explains the rhetorical strategies Ronald Reagan used to generate support, there has not been significant analysis of the strategies he used to avoid losing that support in the various crises that threatened his administration. This case study of Reagan's handling of the Superfund controversy reveals that Reagan relied on what Murray Edelman characterizes as the “passive style.” In the passive style, politicians reaffirm personal values, displace blame on subordinates, and use symbolic action to avoid all responsibility. Reagan's successful reliance on the passive style in the Superfund controversy suggests implications for understanding his failure to deal with the Iran‐Contra affair adequately.     

Coercive rhetorical strategy in political conflict: A case study of the Trent affair

In this study the British reaction to the seizure of Mason and Slidell from on board the Trent is examined in order to suggest characteristics of coercive rhetorical strategy. It is hypothesized that the strategy grew directly out of the context which brought together conviction of opinion and ability to use force successfully against an intransigent opponent. The coercive strategy is one of compliance, bringing into play a repertoire of suitable tactics.     

The ego function of protest songs: An application of Gregg's theory of protest rhetoric

This essay applies Richard Gregg's theory of protest rhetoric to 705 American social movement songs from 1800 to 1985 to discover how songs enable protestors to identify against others and thus to locate themselves positively in the social hierarchy. Songs are ideal messages for ego‐enhancement because they are movement‐centered, concerned with social relationships, and highly self‐directed. Terms denoting innocent victimage and wicked victimizer dominate the selected songs, and the vision of reality is negative, dangerous, threatening, and unfair. Relatively few songs emphasize the unity, virtue, wisdom, or bravery of protestors. The self‐image contained in songs does not appear to express a strongly positive identity or locate the oppressed very high in the symbolic or social hierarchy. This self‐image would seem to fulfill three ego functions essential for the early phases of social movements: raising consciousness, allaying guilt, and reclaiming or proclaiming one's ego. However, a different self‐image is needed as movements grow, confront opposition successfully, achieve some goals, suffer setbacks, and splinter into factions. This analysis of songs indicates that protestors have difficulty making the essential transition from a self‐image of victim to one of power, worth, and virtue. They cannot extricate themselves from symbolically defensive positions in a hostile environment.