Techniques of Close Reading

Barry Brummett is the Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication Emeritus of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas, Austin. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1978 and taught at Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin before coming to the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, retiring in 2022. Brummett has authored, coauthored, or edited numerous articles, scholarly essays, and books, including Rhetoric of Style, Clockwork Rhetoric: The Language and Style of Steampunk, Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric, Techniques of Close Reading, Rhetoric of Machine Aesthetics, and The Politics of Style and the Style of Politics. His research pursuits include the rhetoric of popular culture, epistemology, and the theories of Kenneth Burke.

Preface
Chapter 1. On Noticing What You See and Hear
Being a Reader, Being a Critic
Summary and Looking Ahead
Chapter 2. Theories, Methods, Techniques
Exploring New Territories: Thinking Deductively and Inductively
Starting From the Top, Deductively: Theories and Their Methods
Knowledge, Risk, and Ethics in Theories and Methods
Working With Theories and Methods
Halfway Down, Deductively: Methods and Techniques
Heading Back Up Again, Inductively: From Techniques to Theory
Summary and Looking Ahead
Chapter 3. Using Form for Close Reading
Narrative
Genre
Persona
Form and Politics
Summary and Looking Ahead
Chapter 4. Ideology and Argument
Four Questions to Ask About a Text
Putting Our Questions Together: A Brief Example
Three Examples for Close Reading
Summary and Looking Ahead
Chapter 5. Transformations in Texts: Seeing Beneath the Surface
Metaphor
Metonymy
Synecdoche
Irony
Summary and Looking Ahead
Chapter 6. Close Readings Using Multiple Techniques
The First Inauguration of Barack Obama in a Cartoon
A Group of Ads for Liberty Mutual
Chapter 7. Conclusion
References and Recommended Reading
Index
About the Author