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Rhetorical Criticism

Exploration and Practice, Fourth Edition

Sonja K. Foss

Tens of thousands of students at more than 300 colleges and universities have learned the exciting art of rhetorical criticism from previous editions of this exceptionally accessible text.

Understanding the processes of rhetorical criticism—the systematic investigation and explanation of symbolic acts and artifacts—creates opportunities for more effective communication. When we are aware of the various options available in the construction of messages and how they function to produce effects, we have the tools needed to question the messages in artifacts rather than responding uncritically.

Sonja Foss, who has an enviable talent for synthesizing complex rhetorical concepts and processes into clear explanations, presents nine methods of rhetorical criticism. She carefully explains and illustrates the theory behind each method with abundant examples of applications. Interesting and lively essays, some written by students, encourage readers to develop their critical skills. Useful bibliographies list additional samples for each type of criticism.

$44.95 list, 444 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-586-4

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-586-1

© 2009

“This is a valuable revision, particularly the chapter on pentadic criticism. The textbook challenges to be an excellent primary text for undergraduate rhetorical criticism classes. The student sample essays are particularly useful to illustrate the methods.”  — Clarke Rountree, University of Alabama

“An important update for a strong method-driven approach to critical engagement of texts.”  — Robert Reid, University of Dubuque

Table of Contents

Part I. INTRODUCTION

1. The Nature of Rhetorical Criticism

Rhetoric / Rhetorical Criticism

2. Doing Rhetorical Criticism

Selecting an Artifact / Analyzing the Artifact / Formulating a Research Question / Writing the Essay / Standards of Evaluation for Critical Essays / What Comes Next

3. Neo-Aristotelian Criticism: Genesis of Rhetorical Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: Conventional Wisdom—Traditional Form—The President's Message of November 3, 1969 (Forbes Hill); The Power of Saddam Hussein's War Rhetoric (Gary W. Brown) / Additional Samples of Neo-Aristotelian Criticism

Part II. CRITICAL APPROACHES

4. Cluster Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: The Hay-Wain: Cluster Analysis in Visual Communication (Kathaleen Reid); A Cluster Analysis of Enron's Code of Ethics (Kimberly C. Elliott); Rhetorical Strategies for Generating Hope: A Cluster Analysis of P!NK's "Dear Mr. President" (Erin E. Bassity) / Additional Samples of Cluster Criticism

5. Fantasy-Theme Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: "Heaven, Hell, and Here": Understanding the Impact of Incarceration through a Prison Newspaper (Eleanor M. Novek); Coping with Loss: U2's "One Tree Hill" (Kelly Mendoza); The Sociopolitical Messages of Grafitti Art (Kimberly A. McCormick and David Weiss) / Additional Samples of Fantasy-Theme Criticism

6. Generic Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: The Rhetoric of Exorcism: George W. Bush and the Return of Political Demonology (Joshua Gunn); Family Photographs: A Generic Description (Sharon M. Varallo); Beauty in Conflict: Discussion on Art (Danielle Montoya); An Uncommon Rap Music Video (Lacey N. Stein); The Rhetoric of Huey P. Newton (Davi Johnson) / Additional Samples of Generic Criticism

7. Ideological Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: Memory and Myth at the Buffalo Bill Museum (Greg Dickinson, Brian L. Ott, and Eric Aoki); From the Closet to the Loft: Liminal License and Socio-Sexual Separation in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Celeste Lacroix and Robert Westerfelhaus); Cyber Ideology: An Ideological Criticism of the UNICEF, UNAIDS, and UNFPA Web Sites (Khadidiatou Ndiaye) / Additional Samples of Ideological Criticism

8. Metaphor Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: Audiences, Metaphors, and the Persian Gulf War (Benjamin R. Bates); Making the Familiar Foreign: Dissent and Metaphor Surrounding the Iraq War (Ryan H. Blum); Architectural Metaphor as Subversion: The Portland Building (Marla Kanengieter-Wildeson) / Additional Samples of Metaphoric Criticism

9. Narrative Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: "You Don't Play, You Volunteer": Narrative Public Memory Construction in Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (Aaron Hess); The Rhetorical Power of a Compelling Story: A Critique of a "Toughlove" Parental Support Group (Thomas A. Hollihan and Patricia Riley); Facilitating Openness to Difference: A Narrative Analysis of Leslie Marmon Silko's Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit (Laura S. More, Randi Boyd, Julie Bradley, and Erin Harris) / Additional Samples of Narrative Criticism

10. Pentadic Criticism

Procedures / Sample Essays: A Pentadic Analysis of Senator Edward Kennedy's Address to the People of Massachusetts July 25, 1969 (David A. Ling); A Pentadic Analysis of the CRACK Web Site (Kimberly C. Elliott); Justification of Self-Destructive Behaviors: Pentadic Analysis of "A Letter from Ana" (Danielle C. Cornell) / Additional Samples of Pentadic Criticism

11. Generative Criticism

Encountering a Curious Artifact / Coding the Artifact / Searching for an Explanation / Creating an Explanatory Schema / Formulating a Research Question / Coding the Artifact in Detail / Searching the Literature / Framing the Study / Writing the Essay / Sample Essays: Toward a Theory of Agentic Orientation: Rhetoric and Agency in Run Lola Run (Sonja K. Foss, William J. C. Waters, and Bernard J. Armada); The Gender of Napoleon and the Power of Dynamite (M. Rosie Russo); Star of Fear, Star of Hope: North Star to Reach Reality (Marcia S. Van't Hof)