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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies

Communicating Mobility And Technology: A Material Rhetoric For Persuasive Transportation (Book Review), Daniel L. Hocutt Dec 2016

Communicating Mobility And Technology: A Material Rhetoric For Persuasive Transportation (Book Review), Daniel L. Hocutt

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

Humans are so enmeshed in mobility systems that they identify with themselves through those systems. In Communicating Mobility and Technology: A Material Rhetoric for Persuasive Transportation, Ehren Pflugfelder (2017) uses the term "automobility" to describe both "the specific kinds of mobility afforded by independent, automobile-related movement technologies" and "the complex cultural, bodily, technological, and ecological ramifications of our dependence on separate mobility technologies" (p. 4). Given identities enmeshed in ecologies of systems involving human and nonhuman actors through which transportation emerges, automobility is described as a "wicked problem" to be solved, in part, by technical communicators and communication designers naming …


Rhetorical Analysis Of Monsanto, Kyle J. Brannon Dec 2016

Rhetorical Analysis Of Monsanto, Kyle J. Brannon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Rhetoric, and therefore persuasion, can be utilized to impact society in profound ways. These communication devices can also be used for more sinister and nefarious purposes that can leave black marks on any society’s history. For the purpose of this rhetorical analysis, I thoroughly investigated three artifacts used by the Monsanto Corporation. This project attempts to show how Monsanto utilizes rhetoric and persuasion to convince consumers their products are safe to purchase, although there is no scientific consensus regarding that safety to humans and the environment. Through an examination of these artifacts, I was able to examine how Monsanto used …


Enchanting Memes: Memetic Politics In The Face Of Technocratic Control, Jonathan Carter Nov 2016

Enchanting Memes: Memetic Politics In The Face Of Technocratic Control, Jonathan Carter

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examines emerging trends in networked politics through an analysis of the rhetorical forms and functions of internet memes as a unique response to the increasing force of technocratic rhetorics. Frequently dismissed as mere trivialities of networked discourses, memes have increasingly been mobilized to articulate new positions and structures of feeling around the significant issues of the day. As new iterations of memes are rapidly developed and circulated across networked public spheres, these rhetorical technologies provide new opportunities for amateur participation in the development of symbolic content. Such participation is particularly important as the intensification of control society has …


Agitation In Amsterdam: The International Dimension Of Carrie Chapman Catt's Suffrage Rhetoric, Matthew Gerber Oct 2016

Agitation In Amsterdam: The International Dimension Of Carrie Chapman Catt's Suffrage Rhetoric, Matthew Gerber

Speaker & Gavel

The rhetoric of Carrie Chapman Catt has only recently begun to be studied and theorized across several disciplinary contexts. In the field of communication and rhetorical criticism, previous studies have focused on either Catt’s domestic addresses to her followers and to the U.S. Congress, or have identified Catt’s international diplomacy as one of many motivating factors that spurred action toward suffrage by the American Congress. The focus of this essay is an attempt to analyze Catt’s shame appeals from an audience-centered perspective and begin to make plausible arguments about the instrumental effect of those strategies. Through an examination and close-textual …


Come On In, The Writing's Fine: Preserving Voice And Generating Enthusiasm In My English 100 Syllabus, Elisa Leah Berry Oct 2016

Come On In, The Writing's Fine: Preserving Voice And Generating Enthusiasm In My English 100 Syllabus, Elisa Leah Berry

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis explores the potential for creating a composition syllabus that presents a model of good writing, is an enthusiastic invitation to the discipline, and provides a clear roadmap to success, not only for the course, but also for the students’ college career. This is especially useful for an increasingly diverse student community that arrives to college with a varying knowledge of the academic institution, with its specialized language and systems. The project explores the existing research on syllabus crafting, uses current composition studies and a survey of English 100 students to interrogate the rhetorical situation of the author’s own …


A Rhetorical Criticism Of Blackfish: Making Waves In Orca Activism, Lindsay Beisheim Jun 2016

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Blackfish: Making Waves In Orca Activism, Lindsay Beisheim

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.


If We're Mocking Anything, It's Organized Religion: The Queer Holy Fool Style Of The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence, Christina L. Ivey May 2016

If We're Mocking Anything, It's Organized Religion: The Queer Holy Fool Style Of The Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence, Christina L. Ivey

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Asking questions in and about the often rough terrain at the intersection of sexuality/gender and religion/spirituality, this dissertation seeks to excavate the concept of queer holy fool style as a fitting response to dominant Judeo-Christian narratives that marginalize LGBTQ individuals. To do so, I utilize the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI), a drag performing community of “21st Century Nuns,” as a synechdoche; pulling examples of their communication and performances as evidence of queer holy fool style. In exploring three facets of stylistic study (embodied, textual/hypertextual, and sociological), I blend queer theoretical concepts (like camp, performativity, and disciplining) with rhetorical …


Your Face Betrays You: A Fantasy Theme Analysis Of Lie To Me, Caroline Campbell Apr 2016

Your Face Betrays You: A Fantasy Theme Analysis Of Lie To Me, Caroline Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research concerning the consequences of edutainment has revealed that television shows have the capability to influence audience members. As the lines between education and entertainment are becoming increasingly blurred, viewers may not be aware of how watching such shows impacts them. Lie to Me is a popular edutainment television series that educates viewers about the power of micro expressions. Ekman has dedicated a large part of his life to the development of research related to micro expressions. The show’s main character, Cal Lightman, portrayed Paul Ekman’s special talents and knowledge through his ability to detect micro expressions. The first three …


Beyond Superfund: How Four Communities Market Outdoor Recreation To Overcome Stigma, Kelley Christensen Apr 2016

Beyond Superfund: How Four Communities Market Outdoor Recreation To Overcome Stigma, Kelley Christensen

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This paper reports on how four American towns that have active Superfund remediation underway in their communities are attempting to overcome stigma associated with the cleanup in part by promoting outdoor recreation. These towns are located in high-amenity areas and are able to market a bevy of recreational opportunities. This paper analyzes the interviews of eight people (two from each town) and print promotional materials from each community to determine rhetorical marketing techniques employed by each place. Finally, this paper uses quantitative data from a variety of sources to analyze how effective the marketing rhetoric has been in recent years.


The Aurality Of Rhetoric: A Critical Hermeneutic Of Cape Breton’S Rhetorical Music Community, Gregory J. Dorchak Mar 2016

The Aurality Of Rhetoric: A Critical Hermeneutic Of Cape Breton’S Rhetorical Music Community, Gregory J. Dorchak

Doctoral Dissertations

Although the field of rhetorical studies has expanded from the notion that rhetoric only applies to speeches, there has been little attention paid to the rhetoric of sound. This project focuses on the rhetoric of sound, specifically the musical rhetoric of the community of Cape Breton Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Cape Breton has a long history of maintaining a traditional music community, with its origins in Scotland. The fiddle music of Cape Breton is renowned as a genre of Celtic music. This project looks at the rhetorical acts of the musicians and investigates how these acts of vernacular rhetoric …


Monticello’S Master: Sally Hemings And The Deconstruction Of The Patriot Archetype, Betsy Mccann, Desiree Rowe Mar 2016

Monticello’S Master: Sally Hemings And The Deconstruction Of The Patriot Archetype, Betsy Mccann, Desiree Rowe

Speaker & Gavel

We explore the above discrepancy by posing the question: How does the Sally Hemings controversy work to deconstruct the popular conception of Tho-mas Jefferson as American Patriot through the use of converging and conflicting frames? Kenneth Burke’s concept of poetic framing may be used to help answer this question, as Burke asserts history may be socially constructed via poetic frames which reject or accept a given social order or expectations. Historical figures are constructed as heroes, such as Abraham Lincoln, or as buffoons, such as Benedict Arnold, representing the choice to accept or reject the status quo. Burke asserts frames …