Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Genre As A Lens To Becoming Better Leaders, Elizabeth Baranski

Honors Projects

When most people think of genre, they think of works that fall into categories such as fiction, nonfiction, etc. Genre typically is understood as the way in which a reader can recognize a specific text as falling into a category of similar texts, such as a plotline that focuses solely on the main character falling for a romantic interest being considered a romance novel. However, genre does not strictly have to pertain to physical text such as romance novels and does more work than simply categorizing a type of text. In simple terms, genre is a set of guidelines used ...

Best Practices For Recruiting Students From The Basic Course, Jordan Atkinson, Nicholas T. Tatum

Basic Communication Course Annual

This essay responds to the Basic Course Forum question about best practices for recruiting to and/or from the basic course.

How Responsiveness From A Communication Partner Affects Story Retell In Aphasia: Quantitative And Qualitative Findings, Tyson G. Harmon, Adam Jacks, Katarina L. Haley, Antoine Bailliard

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Because people with aphasia frequently interact with partners who are unresponsive to their communicative attempts, we investigated how partner responsiveness affects quantitative measures of spoken language and subjective reactions during story retell.

Method: A quantitative and a qualitative study were conducted. In study 1, participants with aphasia and controls retold short stories to a communication partner who indicated interest through supportive backchannel responses (responsive) and another who indicated disinterest through unsupportive backchannel responses (unresponsive). Story retell accuracy, delivery speed, and ratings of psychological stress were measured and compared. In study 2, participants completed semi-structured interviews about their story retell ...

Rhetsec_ | Rhetorical Security, Jennifer Mead

Culminating Projects in English

Rhetsec_ examines the rhetorical situation, the rhetorical appeals, and how phishing emails simulate "real" emails in five categories of phishing emails. While the first focus of cybersecurity is security, you must also understand the language of computers to know how to secure them. Phishing is one way to compromise security using computers, and so the computer becomes a tool for malicious language (phishing emails and malware) to be transmitted. Therefore to be concerned with securing computers, then you must also be concerned with language. Language is rhetoric's domain, and the various rhetorical elements which create an identity of the ...

The Ethics Of Occultic Communication: An Invocation Of Joshua Gunn And Sissela Bok, James Thomas Begley Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Occultic rhetoric, according to Joshua Gunn, is a genre of discourse concerned with the study and practice of secret communications. The strategic sharing of secret messages involves a host of methods and conventions designed for the selective disclosure of hidden knowledge, thus controlling the boundaries of (and accessibility to power between) insider and outsider groups. Occultic rhetoric has its uses in everyday encounters, but the abuse of such manipulative strategies, especially by those in the academy and other positions of power and trust, calls for an ethical response. This dissertation submits occultic rhetoric to moral investigation by incorporating the works ...

When Humanity Meets Technology: Contemplating Neil Postman's Critique Of Advertising, Yingwen Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to contemplate Postman’s critique of advertising and offer insights to understand Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in today’s mediated environment. As an essential component of IMC, the history of advertising demonstrates and documents that the medium of communication has an extensive influence on IMC practices. The concern about how communication media affect human perception, understanding, and behavior, resides within the central claim of the study of media ecology. Thus, this project investigates IMC through the lens of Postman’s media ecology perspectives, and argues that Postman’s prescient ideas provide both hope and constructive insights. Moreover ...

Becoming His Work By Hearing His Word: A Gospel Communication Plan For Bellwether Church, John H. Tate

Doctor of Ministry Projects

The goal of this study is to develop a communication plan for Bellwether Community Church. It is argued throughout the paper that this church, located in the Bible Belt, needs a comprehensive program to assist its congregation in living out the gospel through discipleship, apologetics, and evangelism. This program is implemented in Bellwether Community Church over a two–year timeframe.

This program emphasizes preaching as the primary means of communication and the overall plan focuses on the preaching series. However, preaching is only one means of the plan, as it also includes intentional equipping classes, small group curriculum, written devotions ...

Bridging Rhetoric And Pragmatics With Relevance Theory, Brian N. Larson

Faculty Scholarship

In this chapter, I bridge rhetoric and pragmatics, both of which concern themselves with language-in-use and meaning-making beyond formal syntax and semantics. Previous efforts to link these fields have failed, but Sperber and Wilson’s relevance theory (RT), an approach to experimental pragmatics grounded in cognitive science, offers the bridge. I begin by reviewing Gricean pragmatics and its incompatibility with rhetoric and cognitive science. I then sketch RT, but importantly, I identify revisions to RT that make it a powerful tool for rhetorical analysis, a cognitive pragmatic rhetorical (CPR) theory. CPR theory strengthens RT by clarifying what it means to ...

Paving The Way For Merleau-Ponty’S Eye And Mind In Organizational Communication Studies, Johan Bodaski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The body is a sense-based medium that creates and interprets organizations. Bodies create organization. An aesthetic theory of organizational communication reveals the significance of the body to the organization. Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of aesthetics offers a theory of aesthetic organizational communication that is yet to be developed. Merleau-Ponty’s aesthetic essay on painting, Eye and Mind, describes the body as the medium through which painters turn the world into painting. His philosophy of painting builds bridges between aesthetics, the body, and organizational communication.

In chapter one, four theories of organizational communication are described: communication constitutes organization (CCO), text/interpreter ...

Budweiser In The 2017 Super Bowl: Dialectic Values Advocacy And The Rhetorical Stakeholder, Benjamin P. Windholz

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Organizational-public relations discourse is changing given the advent of social media, and corporate statements are evaluated under different criteria in the digital age. Grounding Budweiser’s response to controversy over their 2017 Super Bowl advertisement in terms of consumer expectations for corporate social responsibility provides a new perspective for approaching Bostdorff and Vibbert’s (1994) conceptualization of values advocacy. This study recognizes the power of the rhetorical stakeholder, a discursively created public, and demands re-evaluation of the values common to society from a co-creational OPR perspective. Conceptualizing dialectic values advocacy outlines the changing values among contemporary, common stakeholders as well ...

Wonder Woman: A Case Study For Critical Media Literacy, Adriana N. Fehrs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

To better grasp the messages Wonder Woman is sending to its audience, a Critical Media Literacy (CML), ideological, and feminist framework is used to examine whether, and if so how, Wonder Woman succumbs to stereotypes that are often portrayed in the media. These theories will be used in the ensuing project to build a curriculum aimed at high school students.The curriculum positions students to examine the hegemonic ideologies that are represented in pop culture, specifically Wonder Woman.

Manipulating Diversity: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Annalise Keating’S Intersectional Portrayal Of Race And Sexuality On The Primetime Television Show How To Get Away With Murder, Melany Le

Senior Independent Study Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the intersectional portrayal of the character Annalise Keating as a black queer woman, navigating complex interracial relationships and highly institutionalized environments of legal and higher education systems throughout the first two seasons of How to Get Away with Murder. Utilizing ideological criticism, this research found that despite her marginalized identities, Keating carefully constructs her image to resemble a white, heterosexual woman in order to alleviate, or completely avoid oppression from the major institutions that govern her life and work. Additionally, Keating’s experiences and actions are unique within the world of How ...

An Exploratory Study Of The Impact Of Language On The Transition And Success Of Students In Their First College Year, Kathryn B. Wilhite

Masters of Science in First-Year Studies

ABSTRACT

In a time where colleges and universities are taking strides to consider their communication strategies with incoming students there appears to be a lack of attention on the language within communication pieces and what messages that language conveys to students. This study sought to examine this language through inductive analysis of four research questions which explored what the communication pieces are, what relationship they build, the discourse language present, and the strategies of empowerment language within the communication pieces distributed to all incoming first-year students at a large, public comprehensive four-year university in the Southeastern United States. Research on ...

Showing And Telling: A Technique For Teaching Delivery Skills, Justin J. Rudnick

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This single-class activity provides a framework for instructors to “coach” students to use various delivery skills for presentational speaking. By rotating student groups through three stations, the activity cultivates the students’ understanding of direct eye contact, hand gestures, and vocal volume and articulation. Students prepare a story to share in groups and actively practice each skill while the instructor demonstrates acceptable standards. After completing a debrief discussion, students are better equipped to practice delivery skills with a frame of reference for how those skills should be cultivated in class.

The Making Of A Virtual Monster: Ideological Criticism On The Isis Hate And Extremism, Md Shah Jahan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The 9/11 incident and its subsequent terrorism specifically the rise of radical Islamist groups like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), and al-Qaeda astounds the world. ISIS’s propaganda technique using digital media helps the terrorist group motivate and recruit a large group of people from around the world. Terrorist incidents like the Dhaka café in 2016 and France soccer game attack in 2015 provide a glimpse of ISIS ferocity and barbarism with its subsequent series of attacks. This research examines the kind of rhetorical language that ISIS leaders and followers use to support their ideologies. And, how ...

Spoken Communication, Brian Amsden, Mark May, Susan Mcfarlane-Alvarez, Jonathan Harris

Communication Grants Collections

This Grants Collection uses the grant-supported open course Spoken Communication from Clayton State University:

http://clayton.libguides.com/SpokenCommunication

This Grants Collection for Spoken Communication was created under a Round Three ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal ...

Fundamentals Of Speech, Barbara Tucker, Melissa Whitesell, Jerry Drye, Sarah Min, Clint Kinkead, Kristin Barton

Communication Grants Collections

This Grants Collection uses the grant-supported open textbook Exploring Public Speaking from Dalton State College:

http://oer.galileo.usg.edu/communication-textbooks/1/

This Grants Collection for Fundamentals of Speech was created under a Round Three ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials ...

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

Communication Studies Theses, Dissertations, 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 “21^st 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 ...

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 ...

Third Party Candidates In Political Debates: Muted Groups Struggling To Express Themselves, Carolyn Prentice

Speaker & Gavel

With the rise of a multitude of political parties, some campaign debate organizers are beginning to include third party candidates in their public debates. However, these third party candidates have been ignored in campaign debate literature. This study analyzed the transcripts of three campaign debates that included third party candidates, using muted group theory to understand the impact of third party candidates in campaign debates. The analysis demonstrates that third party candidates experience the communication obstacles of muted groups.

Since World War II, party affiliation among U.S. voters and straight-ticket voting has been on the decline (Miller & Shanks, 1996 ...

Lifestyle Drugs And The Neoliberal Family, Kristin Swenson

Kristin Swenson

Since 1997, advertisements for lifestyle drugs have saturated the U.S. airwaves, print media, and the Internet. Viewers are asked to see their children’s difficulty in school as attention deficit disorder, their worry as anxiety, and their flagging sex life as dysfunction. And for each disorder, there is a corresponding pharmaceutical solution. Through the lens of these advertisements, Lifestyle Drugs and the Neoliberal Family unpacks our contemporary obsession with obtaining easy solutions for difficult problems. The ads’ discourse illuminates the experience of living within a society increasingly affected by the policies of neoliberalism, one that requires us to invest ...

On The Conversational Style Of Ronald Reagan: "A-E=[Less Than]Gc" Revisited And Reassessed, Windy Yvonne Lawrence, Ronald H. Carpenter

Speaker & Gavel

During contemporaneous rhetorical criticism of his style in discourse, President Ronald Reagan was assessed in terms of his living up to the eloquence of John F. Kennedy‘s Inaugural Address. In those two Speaker & Gavel Essays, Reagan was found to be deficient and thus a "less-than-great communicator." After revisiting and reassessing those two essays, Reagan‘s essentially conversational mode of communication for television was found to embody rhetorical elements that indeed may have fostered eloquence sufficient to retain the sobriquet of "great communicator."

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The realm of competitive forensics is filled with challenges including written and unwritten rules and norms, multiple categories with different guidelines for each, a distinct culture only people intimately connected with the activity can navigate without conscious effort, and a basic knowledge of the ever-changing world of communication. For competitors who struggle with physical disabilities, the challenges are beyond daunting. Using the method of autoethnography, this paper investigates how students with physical challenges can successfully participate through accommodation and how speech coaches can advocate for their physically-disabled speakers and request and implement the best accommodations.

Steve Jobs’ Use Of Ethos For Persuasive Success In His 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, Keith Bistodeau

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The use of ethos in persuasive settings has always been a powerful tool in public speaking, especially by those in power and in businesses. Kenneth Burke’s Pentad plays a primary role in persuasive situations, particularly when we as scholars try to dissect and understand specific aspects of a speech situation. In this essay I used Burke’s Pentad as a framework to explore Steve Jobs’ use of, as I term it, “internal and external ethos” as not only a persuasive mechanism, but also as a force to build his persona/mythological legacy.

A Rationale For Incorporating Dystopian Literature Into Introductory Speaking Courses, James P. Dimock, Chad Kuyper, Peggy Dimock

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Since Aristotle, teachers of public speaking have argued that an understanding of the audience’s beliefs, values, and assumptions about the world are the key to effective, persuasive speaking. All too often, however, public speaking courses either avoid audience analysis or focus on superficial details of the audience demographics. This paper makes the argument that by reading and discussing novels, students can develop an appreciation of their classmates as audience members and that dystopian fiction is especially well-suited to developing speech ideas that connect public speaking with the world outside the classroom. Teaching suggestions and lesson plans are included.

Viewing Film From A Communication Perspective: Film As Public Relations, Product Placement, And Rhetorical Advocacy In The College Classroom, Robin Patric Clair, Rebekah L. Fox, Jennifer L. Bezek

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Academics approach film from multiple perspectives, including critical, literary, rhetorical, and managerial approaches. Furthermore, and outside of film studies courses, films are frequently used as a pedagogical tool. Their relevance in society as well as their valuable use in the classroom makes them an important and pragmatic medium deserving further attention. The ability of film to be used in a socio-political way may sustain, challenge or change the status quo, which supports studying film as well as teaching students about the power of film. The purpose of this article is to share the development of a course which points out ...

Theory In A Transdisciplinary Mode: The Rhetoric Of Inquiry And Digital Humanities, Chris Ingraham

Poroi

The sciences and humanities have long been regarded as discrete intellectual cultures, separated by a sharp epistemic divide. Recently, however, turns toward "transdisciplinarity" have intimated the growing importance of overcoming disciplinary boundaries. The Rhetoric of Inquiry and digital humanities are two transdisciplinary projects that have attempted, respectively, to bring humanistic inquiry to the sciences, and to bring scientific inquiry to the humanities. This paper attempts to trace the parallel genealogies of both projects in an attempt to theorize some common traits of theory in a transdisciplinary mode. I suggest that articulating these projects with one another enables us to suppose ...

Sit, Stand, Speak: Examining The Perceptions Of The Basic Public Speaking Student On Normative Forensic Practices And Their Effect On Competitor Credibility In Oratory, Katie Marie Brunner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper examines basic public speaking students' perceptions forensic competitor credibility based on normative factors present within the forensic community. Anecdotal and experiential evidence provided this researcher with reason to believe that the unwritten rules and normative expectations of forensics were so far-removed from what students were used to seeing in their classrooms and in the media, that they could have a negative impact on a competitor's ethos, from the basic public speaking students' perspective. This research was performed in an attempt to determine whether these anecdotal and experiential assumptions were accurate and also to gain insight into the ...

Content And Character: Modeling Christian Communication After Jesus' Sermon On The Mount, Sophie Demuth

Honors Theses

In order to learn about Jesus’ communication method, I decided to study the Sermon on the Mount. After doing an in-depth study of Jesus’ method (how he taught, the devices he used, and his structure), I realized his method is only a part of his effectiveness as a speaker. Without credibility and integrity as well, Jesus’ teaching would fall flat and cease to have authority. This realization especially struck me because, in the field of communications, method is emphasized over integrity and character. I decided to compare Jesus’ method and character with what the communication field teaches about public speaking ...

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and ...