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 third persona: An ideological turn in rhetorical theory

Wander finally answers his critics (who had various rejoinders to his “The Ideological Turn in Modern Criticism,” CSSJ, Spring 1983), with an extension of his original position, including development of the concept of “the third persona.”     

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.     

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.     

The interpretative experience as a rhetorical transaction

The interpretative experience becomes a rhetorical transaction with the interaction of the literary work, the interpreter, and the auditor. When viewed from a phenomenological perspective, such a transaction becomes a “lived situation,” one that can extend the life worlds of the interpreter and his auditors.     

The rhetorical appeals of whites to blacks during reconstruction

The emancipation of slaves placed new rhetorical demands upon white spokesmen in the South. To maintain their racial authority, whites refined two rhetorical appeals conceived in slavery: a rhetorical bribe and a rhetorical threat.     

The rhetorical complicity indigenous to winning the north Georgia campaign

To ensure a winning cause, the majority may forfeit freedom of expression for security and prosperity. The more confident of conquest the greater the authority of establishment leaders and the lower the rhetorical status of followers. Empowered by promises of victory, to marshall resistance to William T. Sherman's advances through Georgia and to maintain their dominance, southern rhetors formulated three powerful controls: sanctification, distortion, and persuasive coercion.     

简论数据库版权保护的理论基础

数据库版权保护的理论基础主要有辛勤收集原则和原创性原则。前者已被现代版权法所扬弃,后者占据主导地位。数据库特殊权利保护的立法已经初见端倪。     

A rhetorical schema for the evaluation of visual imagery

In this essay, a schema is proposed for the evaluation of visual imagery from a rhetorical perspective. In the schema, judgments of quality about a visual image are made in terms of the function communicated by the image. Three processes are involved in such judgments— identification of a function or functions communicated by an image, assessment of the degree to which substantive and stylistic dimensions of the image support the communication of the function, and evaluation of the legitimacy of the function. The schema is illustrated in applications to a chair from the Memphis design consortium and to The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.     

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.     

Enactment as rhetorical strategy in the year of living dangerously

In The Year of Living Dangerously, the philosophical position that is argued in the film's content is reflected also in the film's form; i.e., the film is an enactment of the argument it makes. Failure to recognize enactment as a viable rhetorical strategy may have led to a failure to recognize the film's rhetorical force. Further study of enactment and its rhetorical effectiveness are suggested.     

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.     

Predicting attitude from desirability and likelihood ratings of rhetorical propositions

This report focuses on two antecedent variables, dogmatism and need for social approval of the receivers. The study tested whether either antecedent variable would affect the relationship between message strategy and resistance to persuasion.     

The "Illusion of Life" rhetorical perspective: an integrated approach to the study of music as communication

–The illusion of life rhetorical perspective increases our understanding about how discursive linguistic symbols and non-discursive aesthetic symbols function together to communicate and persuade in didactic music. We argue that lyrics and music work together to offer messages comprised of both conceptual and emotional content through the constructs of virtual experience (lyrics) and virtual time (music). Both virtual experience and virtual time must exist for music to function rhetorically. For songs without lyrics, virtual experience must be derived from some other source. Emotional content is progressively articulated in music and is understood by considering intensity and release patterns both individually and contextually. Music's rhetorical significance lies in the degree of congruity or incongruity that exists between virtual experience and virtual time. Congruent messages make the meaning more poignant, but could come at the expense of listener appeal. Incongruent messages transform the message in some way, making the holistic message more than, and perhaps different from, the message depicted in the lyrics alone. Incongruity could result in misinterpretation, an emotional message devoid of conceptual content, or subtle and systematic persuasion.