A Vernacular Republican Rhetoric: William Manning's Key of Libberty

Our analysis of farmer and tavern-keeper William Manning's 1798 Key of Libberty extends the concept of American republican rhetoric to include both elite and vernacular forms. We find that the key components of Manning's vernacular republicanism are: an aggressive use of the rhetoric of critique; the demand for transparency in public argument; the rejection of elite leadership; and the belief that decisions must be made in the interest of the common good. We compare vernacular to elite republicanism and conclude that the vernacular perspective has endured in American reform rhetoric.     

Negotiating Feminist Politics in the Third Wave: Labor Struggle and Solidarity in Live Nude Girls Unite!

This essay examines Live Nude Girls Unite!, a documentary about female exotic dancers' successful efforts to unionize. The film rhetorically exposes an alternative perspective on the ideological evolution, and contradictions, that represent third-wave feminism by complicating the notion of gender oppression and the responsibilities of coalition politics. Through these women's analyses of their political situation, the film rhetorically addresses complex issues, including the complicated distinctions between victimizer and victim in contemporary gender politics, women's appropriation of sex work and capacity for labor activism, and the dominant culture's attempts to regulate working women's private and public lives.     

Triumph in Defeat: The Genre of Third Party Presidential Concessions

I argue through analysis of the genre of concession speeches that third party presidential candidates have rhetorical norms of their own that address their unique challenges as political outsiders. I contend that their concessions are a variant of the concession genre warranted by the recurring situational barriers and overall purposes for minor party presidential campaigns. In developing this argument, I describe the function and form of traditional concessions, offer an alternative theory based on the analysis of over 30 such statements by various third party nominees from 1948 to 2008, and then provide three case studies demonstrating the genre.     

方法与史料的科学运筹──读宗廷虎、李金苓《中国修辞学通史·近现代卷》

宗廷虎、李金苓先生的《中国修辞学通史·近现代卷》是一本不可多得的学术著作,作为修辞学史论,它的价值超越了语言学的范畴。这部著作具有多方面的特色,史料与方法的科学运筹是其中最重要的特色。     

文艺复兴时期关于亚里士多德《修辞学》的论争:传播理论的跨文化解读

本演讲探讨了欧洲早期文艺复兴期间(大约1350-1700)为解读亚里士多德的《修辞学》中的论述所做出的努力,讨论了欧洲的注释者在理解亚里士多德的《修辞学》中所遇到的困难,关注了当时学者意料之外的某些论争,并力图阐释引起这些论争的原因。作者认为,人们力图阐释关于一种文化的论述并力图从另一种文化的需求和兴趣来解读这种论述的努力对中美两国具有重要意义,这些阐释所可能引发的结果也具有积极意义。作者的这种解读对当今世界——对中国和“西方”国家富有更为广泛的意义——因为他在试图解读产生于一种文化而被转译到另一种文化的修辞学和传播学理论。作者指出,在欧洲文艺复兴时期,人们相信修辞学和社会很大程度上是一回事。修辞学能够使人们避免暴力、摆脱兽性,使许多不同人的思想统一起来,促成一种包容各种矛盾的和谐社会。修辞学使我们变得文明。     

论人际关系修辞的真诚宽容准则

真诚宽容是人际关系修辞的一个重要准则。通过从体现诚信、体现尊重、体现宽宏三个方面具体论述,论证了这一准则。     

论“文艺辞章学”

文艺辞章学是汉语修辞学中既注重实用、又注重艺术性,深受广大读者青睐的一门分支学科,建立文艺辞章学对丰富辞章学的研究具有重要意义。通过从建立该学科的理论基础、理论框架入手,概括的描述了这门学科的研究范畴及学术价值。     

吕叔湘对中国修辞学的贡献

语言学宗师吕叔湘不仅是语法学家、语文教育家,同时也是一名修辞学家和修辞实践家。吕先生一生十分重视修辞学研究并且始终关注、支持修辞学的健康发展。他对中国修辞学的重要贡献是：开创性研究提供了修辞学研究的新范式;独特修辞观促进了修辞学的科学发展;打造学术平台促进学术交流,发现并培养了杰出的修辞学家。     

当代西方修辞学理论的发展与创新

哲学家的修辞学转向使当代修辞学从传统的束缚中走了出来，不再局限于对劝说和论辩的修辞术和修辞法结构的研究，而是与哲学思想交织在一起。在哲学家和修辞学家的共同努力下，修辞学与哲学传统上的分离得到了修复，大大地巩固了修辞学的学术地位。修辞的功能从言说技巧提升到人类的生存状态。修辞学理论的更新和深化扩大了修辞学的视野，为修辞学的跨学科研究开辟了广阔的领域。     

训诂的联系性原则

研究训诂学必须贯彻联系性原则。所谓联系性原则，就是要坚持辩证法的观点，不要孤立地研究词义。这有两方面的涵义：一是要把词义的解释研究同音韵学、字学、语法学、修辞学等有关学科联系起来；一是要把词义的研究与化历史联系起来。