Modern Rhetorical Criticism

Roderick P. Hart holds the Shivers Chair in Communication and is Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. Former dean of the Moody College of Communication and founding director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, Hart is the author or editor of fifteen books, the most recent of which is Political Tone: What Leaders Say and Why (2013). Suzanne Daughton has taught Rhetorical Criticism for nearly three decades at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. She has published in such places as the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Critical Studies in Mass Communication, Text and Performance Quarterly, and Women’s Studies in Communication. Rebecca LaVally is a professor of Rhetorical Criticism and Persuasion at California State University, Sacramento. She is a coauthor of Game Changers: Twelve Elections That Transformed California and winner of the 2014 California Historical Society Book Award.

Preface

Unit I

INTRODUCTION TO CRITICISM

Chapter 1: THE RHETORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Arts of Rhetoric

The Range of Rhetoric

The Functions of Rhetoric

Conclusion

Chapter 2: THE CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Purposes of Criticism

Qualities of the Ideal Critic

The Reasons for Criticism

The Standards of Criticism

Conclusion

Unit II

GENERAL FORMS OF CRITICISM

Chapter 3: ANALYZING SITUATIONS

The Meanings of Speech-Acts

The Functions of Speech-Acts

The Components of Speech-Acts

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 4: ANALYZING IDEAS

The Study of Ideas

Guidelines for Creating an Analysis

A Topical Approach to Ideas

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 5: ANALYZING ARGUMENT

The Logic of Persuasion

Evidence and Reasoning

Narrative and Reasoning

Toulmin and Reasoning

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 6: ANALYZING FORM

Structure and Form in Rhetoric

Generic Studies of Form

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 7: ANALYZING SYNTAX AND IMAGERY

Examining Syntax

Examining Imagery

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 8: ANALYZING WORD CHOICE

Examining Group Lexicons

Examining Individual Lexicons

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 9: ANALYZING MEDIA

Rhetoric and Mass Media

The Rhetoric of News

The Enduring Influence of Television

The Multiplying Influences of Digital Rhetoric

Exploring Visual Symbols

The Rhetoric of Entertainment

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Unit III

SPECIALIZED FORMS OF CRITICISM

Chapter 10: Analyzing Persona and Role

The Emergence of Role

The Management of Role

The Assessment of Role in Rhetor-Centered Discourse

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 11: CULTURAL CRITICISM

Values: The Beginnings of Culture

Myths: The Substance of Culture

Fantasy Themes: The Grassroots of Culture

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 12: DRAMATISTIC CRITICISM

The Principles of Dramatism

The Methods of Dramatism

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 13: IDENTITY CRITICISM

Principles of Identity Criticism

Practicing Identity Criticism

Policy Critique

Representational Critique

Performative Critique

Conclusion

Additional Reading

Chapter 14: IDEOLOGICAL CRITICISM

Deconstructionist Critique

Marxist Critique

Postcolonial Critique

Conclusion

Additional Reading