Rhetoric and Society series – serie

Increasingly, scholars in language studies, sociology, media studies, cultural studies, communication, and other disciplines are turning to the analysis of everyday texts to understand how they shape and are shaped by social relationships, structures, and systems in various communities. Analyzing Everyday Texts provides a comprehensive and well-illustrated framework for the analysis of everyday texts by outlining and integrating three different perspectives: discoursal, rhetorical, and social. First, the tools of each perspective are carefully explicated in chapters on the resources of discoursal, rhetorical, and social theory. These three perspectives are then brought together in extensive analyses of various everyday texts. Finally, the book examines on the principles and consequences of conducting theoretically informed critical textual analysis. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers analyzing everyday texts and for scholars teaching theories and methods of analysis.

Increasingly, scholars in language studies, sociology, media studies, cultural studies, communication, and other disciplines are turning to the analysis of everyday texts to understand how they shape and are shaped by social relationships, structures, and systems in various communities. Analyzing Everyday Texts provides a comprehensive and well-illustrated framework for the analysis of everyday texts by outlining and integrating three different perspectives: discoursal, rhetorical, and social. First, the tools of each perspective are carefully explicated in chapters on the resources of discoursal, rhetorical, and social theory. These three perspectives are then brought together in extensive analyses of various everyday texts. Finally, the book examines on the principles and consequences of conducting theoretically informed critical textual analysis. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers analyzing everyday texts and for scholars teaching theories and methods of analysis.

What are the consequences in American society when social and political activism is replaced by pursuit of personal, psychological change? How does such a shift happen? Where is it visible? In wide-ranging case studies, Control and Consolation in American Culture and Politics points out this change in American culture and attributes it to the "rhetoric of therapy." This rhetoric is defined as a pervasive cultural discourse that applies psychotherapyÆs lexiconùthe constructive language of healing, coping, adaptation, and restoration of a previously existing orderùto social and political conflict. The purpose of this therapeutic discourse is to encourage people to focus on themselves and their private lives rather than to attempt to reform flawed systems of social and political power. Author Dana L. Cloud focuses on the therapeutic discourse that emerged after the Vietnam War and links its rise to specific political and economic interests. The critical case studies describe in detail not only what the therapeutic style looks like, but how and why therapeutic discourses are persuasive. These studies include: the rhetoric of "family values"; media coverage of "support groups" during the Persian Gulf War; Gloria SteinenÆs Revolution from Within; the film Thelma and Louise; and literature of the New Age Movement. Cloud concludes with a chapter urging resistance to the therapeutic persuasion she describes envisioning in its place engaged public politics. At once unique and engaging, Control and Consolation in American Culture and Politics is a must read for academics and students interested in communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, political science, and media studies.

Designed specifically for noncommunication scholars, Communication Criticism is an informally written, practical guide about how to think, how to communicate effectively, and how to filter meaning out of the swarm of communication that seeks our attention daily. Undergraduates will learn how understanding the fundamental principles of communication helps them judge the potential effectiveness, effects, truths, and ethics of all types of communication from classical "soapbox speeches" to reading a magazine, talking to a boy/girlfriend, watching court proceedings, or watching the TV news. In a format similar to most public speaking courses, author Jodi R. Cohen introduces classical theories of rhetoric at the beginning of each chapter, then expands the discussion with contemporary postmodern theories, touching on concerns with aesthetics and cultural bias as well. Question-and-answer sections in each chapter and many specific, down-to-earth examples will attract and encourage students to harness the power of communication that shapes who we are, what we know, and what we do. A highly practical resource, Communication Criticism is the ideal for professionals in popular culture, media studies, mass communication, and film studies.

Designed specifically for noncommunication scholars, Communication Criticism is an informally written, practical guide about how to think, how to communicate effectively, and how to filter meaning out of the swarm of communication that seeks our attention daily. Undergraduates will learn how understanding the fundamental principles of communication helps them judge the potential effectiveness, effects, truths, and ethics of all types of communication from classical "soapbox speeches" to reading a magazine, talking to a boy/girlfriend, watching court proceedings, or watching the TV news. In a format similar to most public speaking courses, author Jodi R. Cohen introduces classical theories of rhetoric at the beginning of each chapter, then expands the discussion with contemporary postmodern theories, touching on concerns with aesthetics and cultural bias as well. Question-and-answer sections in each chapter and many specific, down-to-earth examples will attract and encourage students to harness the power of communication that shapes who we are, what we know, and what we do. A highly practical resource, Communication Criticism is the ideal for professionals in popular culture, media studies, mass communication, and film studies.