The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture

Deanna D. Sellnow is a professor of strategic communication in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida. She conducts research in two major areas. The first focuses on strategic instructional communication in a variety of contexts including both in-person and online classrooms, as well as risk, crisis, and health communication contexts. The second focuses on rhetorical studies of popular culture (ranging from music to advertisements to television programs and feature films). She has conducted funded research for the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her work is published in refereed national and international journals, as well as several books. She has presented her work across the United States and in many countries around the world, including Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, England, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, and Vietnam. She and her husband, Tim, have a daughter (Debbie) and son-in-law (Scott), son (Rick) and daughter-in-law (Sarah), and three grandchildren (Lincoln, Emmett, and Rosemary).

1. What Is Popular Culture and Why Study It?
What Is Popular Culture?
What Are Popular Culture Texts?
Why Study Popular Culture?
Conducting a Rhetorical Analysis of Popular Culture Texts
Sample Student Essay
2. Expanding the Rhetorical Tradition
The Nature of Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism
Evolution of the Rhetorical Tradition
Rhetoric in the Communication Discipline
The Neo-Aristotelian Approach to Rhetorical Criticism
Contemporary Rhetorical Approaches
Sample Published Essay
3. A Narrative Perspective
Narration
Narrative Rationality
Conducting a Narrative Analysis
Sample Analyses
Sample Published Essay
4. A Dramatistic Perspective
The Pentad
Absolution of Guilt
Conducting a Dramatistic Analysis
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
5. A Marxist Perspective
Ideology and Hegemony
Materialism and Economic Metaphors
Sites of Struggle
Conducting a Marxist Analysis
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
6. Feminist Perspectives
Hegemony, Patriarchy, and Masculine Hegemony
Sites of Struggle
Waves of Feminism
Feminist Perspectives for Studying Popular Culture Texts
Conducting a Feminist Analysis
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
7. A Music Perspective: The Illusion of Life Theory
Music as Communication
The Illusion of Life
Conducting an Illusion of Life Analysis
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
8. A Visual Perspective: Visual Pleasure Theory
Visual Pleasure Theory
Conducting a Visual Pleasure Analysis
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
9. Media-Centered Perspectives
Media Logic
Social Learning Theory
Parasocial Relationship Theory
Cultivation Theory
Conducting an Analysis Using a Media-Centered Perspective
Sample Published Essay
Sample Student Essay
Appendix: Writing a Popular Culture Rhetorical Essay
Collecting Research and Examining Your Text
Writing Your Essay
Presenting Your Essay