Rhetorical Criticism: Perspectives in Action

408 Pages·2021·4.251 MB·English

by  Jim A. Kuypers (editor)

Rhetorical Criticism
Communication, Media, and Politics
Series Editor: Robert E. Denton, Jr., Virginia Tech
This series features a range of work dealing with the role and function of communication in
the realm of politics, broadly defined. Including general academic books and texts for use in
graduate and advanced undergraduate courses, the series encompasses humanistic, critical,
historical, and empirical studies in political communication in the United States. Primary
subject areas include campaigns and elections, media, and political institutions. Communica-
tion, Media, and Politics books will be of interest to students, teachers, and scholars of political
communication from the disciplines of communication, rhetorical studies, political science,
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The 2008 Presidential Campaign: A Communication Perspective
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Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, Ninth Edition
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Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice
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Rhetorical Criticism: Perspectives in Action, Third Edition
Edited by Jim A. Kuypers
Rhetorical Criticism
Perspectives in Action
Third Edition
Edited by
Jim A. Kuypers
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Names: Kuypers, Jim A., editor.
Title: Rhetorical criticism : perspectives in action / edited by Jim A. Kuypers.
Description: Third edition. | Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2021] | Series: Communication,
media, and politics | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021009830 (print) | LCCN 2021009831 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538138137
(cloth ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781538138144 (paperback ; alk. paper) | ISBN 9781538138151
(epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Rhetorical criticism.
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Brief Contents
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
1 Essential Elements of Rhetorical Criticism: The Big Picture 1
Jim A. Kuypers
Part I: Overview of Rhetorical Criticism
2 What Is Rhetoric? 7
Jim A. Kuypers and Andrew King
3 What Is Rhetorical Criticism? 23
Jim A. Kuypers
4 Understanding Rhetorical Situations 45
Marilyn Young and Kathleen Farrell
5 Generic Elements in Rhetoric 53
William Benoit and Mark Glantz
Part II: Perspectives on Criticism
6 The Traditional Perspective 71
Forbes I. Hill
7 Close Textual Analysis: Approaches and Applications 95
Stephen Howard Browne
8 Criticism of Metaphor 111
John W. Jordan
9 The Narrative Perspective 133
Robert C. Rowland
v
vi Brief Contents
10 Dramatism and Kenneth Burke’s Pentadic Criticism 155
Ryan Erik McGeough and Andrew King
11 Feminist Analysis 177
Donna Marie Nudd and Kristina Schriver Whalen
12 Ideographic Criticism 207
Ronald Lee and Adam Blood
Part III: Expanding Our Critical Horizons
13 Eclectic Rhetorical Criticism: Combining Perspectives for Insights 233
Jim A. Kuypers
14 Visual Rhetoric 251
Natalia Mielczarek
15 Criticism of Popular Culture and Social Media 277
Kristen Hoerl and Zoe Farquhar
16 Criticism of Digital Rhetoric 299
Michelle G. Gibbons
17 Critical Rhetoric: An Orientation Toward Criticism 321
Raymie McKerrow
Appendix A: Writing Criticism: Getting Started 339
Appendix B: Additional Rhetorical Perspectives and Genres 345
Appendix C: Glossary of Terms 351
Appendix D: “On Objectivity and Politics in Criticism,” Edwin Black 361
Index 365
About the Contributors 383
Contents
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
1 Essential Elements of Rhetorical Criticism: The Big Picture 1
Jim A. Kuypers
Part I: Overview of Rhetorical Criticism
2 What Is Rhetoric? 7
Jim A. Kuypers and Andrew King
A Concise Sketch of the Rhetorical Tradition 8
The Many Meanings of Rhetoric Today 10
The Strategic Nature of Rhetoric 11
Rhetoric as Goal-Oriented Communication 12
The Moral Dimensions of Rhetoric 15
A Larger Conception of Rhetoric 15
What Future for Rhetoric? 17
Suggested Readings 18
Discussion Questions 19
Activities 19
3 What Is Rhetorical Criticism? 23
Jim A. Kuypers
Criticism as a Method 24
The Critical Act 25
The Conceptual Stage 25
The Communication Stage 26
The Counter-Communication Stage 30
Key Issues in Criticism 31
What to Include 31
Choice of Theoretical Perspective 36
vii
viii Contents
Initial Approach 37
Objectivity or Subjectivity? 38
Wrapping Up 39
Suggested Readings 39
Discussion Questions 40
Activities 40
4 Understanding Rhetorical Situations 45
Marilyn Young and Kathleen Farrell
Using the Rhetorical Situation 45
Public Knowledge and Rhetorical Situations 46
Rhetoric as Situated 47
Potentials and Pitfalls 49
Situational Perspective Top Picks 49
Discussion Questions 50
Activities 50
5 Generic Elements in Rhetoric 53
William Benoit and Mark Glantz
The Theory and Practice of Generic Rhetorical Criticism 55
Situation and Genre 56
Purpose and Genre 57
Genre: “Act” at the Intersection of Scene, Purpose, Agent, and Agency 58
Generic Description: An Inductive Approach 59
Identifying the Defining Characteristic(s) 59
Identifying Similarities 61
Explaining Observed Similarities 61
Generic Application: A Deductive Approach 62
Potentials and Pitfalls 63
General Rhetorical Criticism Top Picks 64
Discussion Questions 65
Activities 65
Part II: Perspectives on Criticism
6 The Traditional Perspective 71
Forbes I. Hill
Traditional Criticism 71
Recreating the Context of Rhetorical Events 73
Constructing Audiences for Rhetorical Events 74
Describing the Source of the Message 76
Analyzing the Message 77
Evaluating the Discourse 81
Critical Essay 82
Mr. Douglass’s Fifth of July 82
Personal Reflections 89
Potentials and Pitfalls 90
Traditional Criticism Top Picks 90
Contents ix
Discussion Questions 91
Activities 91
7 Close Textual Analysis: Approaches and Applications 95
Stephen Howard Browne
CTA Guiding Principles 96
Principle 1: Rhetorical Texts Are Sites of Symbolic Action 96
Principle 2: Form and Content Cannot Be Divorced 96
Principle 3: Text Informs Context, and Vice Versa 97
Principle 4: Rhetorical Texts Exhibit Artistic Density 98
Critical Essay 100
Close Textual Analysis of Barack Obama’s March 18, 2008,
Speech in Philadelphia 100
Personal Reflections 105
Potentials and Pitfalls 105
CTA Top Picks 107
Discussion Questions 108
Activities 108
8 Criticism of Metaphor 111
John W. Jordan
How Metaphors Work 112
Rhetorical Functions of Metaphor 113
Metaphor and Context 114
Critiquing Metaphors 118
Critical Essays 118
Example 1: Metaphors and Restaurant Reviews 118
Example 2: Parasite’s Use of Odor as a Metaphor for
Socioeconomic Inequality 121
Personal Reflections 126
Potentials and Pitfalls 127
Metaphor Criticism Top Picks 127
Discussion Questions 129
Activities 129
9 The Narrative Perspective 133
Robert C. Rowland
Describing Narrative Form and Function 134
Narrative Form 134
Narrative Function 136
Approaches to Narrative Rhetorical Criticism 138
The Narrative Paradigm and Rhetorical Criticism 138
Applications of the Narrative Paradigm 139
Narrative Analysis: A Systematic Perspective 141
Summary of a Systematic Perspective on Narrative Analysis 143
Critical Essay 143
A Narrative Analysis of Stories about Children Abducted to Saudi Arabia 144
Personal Reflections 149