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Descriptors:
Case Studies; Characterization; Communication Research; Higher Education; Letters (Correspondence); Personal Narratives; Rhetoric

Abstract:
Presents a case study of autobiographical letters written by a turn-of-the-century prostitute to a Boston matron. Shows how, in creating a narrative of her life, the author of the letters uses several rhetorical strategies to recreate her character to persuade her audience (and herself) that she is worthy of respect. (SR)

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Descriptors:
Discourse Analysis; Femininity; Feminism; Higher Education; Persuasive Discourse; Religious Factors; Speech Communication

Abstract:
Investigates the use of "bridging devices" in Lucretia Coffin Mott's "Discourse on Woman" (1849). Shows how Mott uses the Quaker concept of the "inner light" to balance the tension between her conservative cultural milieu and her radical goals. Argues that Mott's rhetoric is instructive for modern feminists who try to unite women with disparate cultural roots. (SR)

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Descriptors:
Communication Research; Higher Education; Research Methodology; Researcher Subject Relationship; Researchers; Rhetorical Criticism; Theory Practice Relationship

Abstract:
Considers, in a special issue on the topic, criteria for the admissibility of evidence and how methodology affects what is considered to be evidence. Discusses evidential standards in rhetorical criticism--asking whether the data are is pertinent to one's critical perspective, relevant to the claim, the best available data, and what politics are bound up with it. (SR)

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Descriptors:
Audience Response; Higher Education; Narration; Persuasive Discourse; Public Speaking; Rhetorical Criticism; Rhetorical Invention; Speeches

Abstract:
Performs a Burkean analysis of Russell H. Conwell's once famous speech, "Acres of Diamonds." Reveals that Conwell's success relied upon a masterful transformation of pentadic ratios, in the medium of the "true-life" success story. Illustrates this narrative's power in altering an audience's perception of its role in a greater drama. (SR)

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Descriptors:
Political Influences; Rhetorical Criticism

Abstract:
Analyzes the rhetoric of the 1850s' Know-Nothing party, the first national political party to use nativism successfully in its platform. Concludes that nativist rhetoric's success and failure lies in the traditional values party members used to overcome the constraints traditionally imposed upon the nativist response to the rhetorical situation. (MM)

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Descriptors:
Communication Research; Discourse Analysis; Grief; Rhetoric; Speech Communication; War

Abstract:
Traces the rhetorical relationship between the ritual path taken by each rhetor and the types of messages they leave behind at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington D.C., especially in the rhetoric "as addressed" to an audience. Reveals the interplay of ritual choice and message. (MS)

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Descriptors:
Attitude Change; Authors; Comedy; Females; Feminism; Humor; Literary Styles; Rhetorical Criticism; Satire; Sex Role; United States History

Abstract:
Shows how the rhetoric of selected woman humorists from 1820 to 1880 exemplifies the operation of various comic literary reference frames. Asserts that their comic frame disintegrated because these writers were unable to foster identification between females and males and failed to provide a world view that could accommodate social change. (MM)

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Descriptors:
Cultural Context; Discourse Analysis; Imperialism; Legislators; Political Power; Public Speaking; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Criticism; Rhetorical Invention; Speeches

Abstract:
Describes Senator Albert Jerimiah Beveridge as a leader in two early twentieth-century movements: imperialism and progressivism. Indicates that Beveridge's success demonstrates the possibility that rhetors can adapt to changes in the rhetorical situation without surrendering their personal convictions. (JK)

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Descriptors:
Catholics; Discourse Analysis; Immigrants; Patriotism; Political Influences; Political Issues; Protestants; Rhetorical Criticism; Social Values; United States History

Abstract:
The Know-Nothing party of the 1850s was the first nativist party in American politics to gain importance and serves as an exemplar of how cultural nativism may be captured and turned toward political goals. The resurgence of nativist sentiment in the Know-Nothing era provides an excellent example of a rhetorical situation which seriously constrains the form of the accompanying rhetoric. To overcome the failings of nativist rhetoric, the Know-Nothings linked nativism to common American values in such a manner that audiences were convinced that nativism was consistent with American tradition. The Know-Nothing party created their conspiracy theory along traditional lines and by appealing to three basic concepts that were strong in the American mind at that time: secrecy, patriotism, and Protestantism. The use of these three basic American values enabled the party to construct a drama consistent with the values of the natives, thus easily incorporating it into the traditional American mythology. The failure of the Know-Nothing party was that it did not adjust its story to respond to the demands of the changing rhetorical situation, which include the party's refusal to acknowledge a strong competing counter-explanation of the country's problems and the party's ignorance of a dramatic change that had taken place in the American audience, that is the division of a country on the brink of civil war. (Fifty-three notes are included.) (MS) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Catharsis; Content Analysis; Death; Discourse Analysis; Grief; Interpersonal Communication; Letters (Correspondence); Rhetoric; Rhetorical Criticism; Symbolism; Veterans

Abstract:
An examination of letters left at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C. between November, 1984 and April, 1986 revealed that the memorial serves as a rhetorical situation that urges its visitors to eloquence. The memorial is an excellent proving ground for situational theory because the interaction of site and perception is vital to the communication created by the rhetor/audience. The memorial consists of two walls of granite in a v-shape, inscribed with the names of those who died in the Vietnam War. Those who leave messages at the memorial treat it as a commemoration, a gravesite, a spiritual medium, and an apology to the dead. The motivation behind visitors' responses seems to be a search for healing; each rhetor is searching for some form of peace. Visitors are moved to eulogize the dead in ways that personalize the memorial. The messages left behind suggest that for many, visiting the memorial is cathartic. And for some, the messages and the memorial serve as a medium for speaking to the dead. Finally, visitors use their messages to apologize for being alive when a friend is dead. The responses arise from each visitor's subjective needs, but the memorial serves as a rhetorical situation transforming these internal responses into rhetoric. (SRT) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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