Rhetoric and Composition Commons^™

Pre-Game Rhetoric: Pure Motivation Or Simply Show?, Sam Alan Hettinger

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

A Disciplined And Virtuous Vampire, Holland (Holly) Brown

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The Features Of The Voice Of African American Tradition: An Analysis Of African American Rhetoric For The Influence Of The Call Response Technique, Laura Venezia

Communication Studies

This project explicates the nature of the rhetorical strategies, especially the call response, used by various African American artists and orators (Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Public Enemy). The techniques include the interplay of repetition and heightening emotion provided especially through 1. using the “call response” directly, 2. announcing jeremiad warnings and rallying cries, and 3. using potent images to arouse emotions—the objective correlative.

Writing, Illustrating, And Publishing A Children’S Book, Sarah Payne

Senior Honors Projects

My book is entitled Delilah Discovers Degas, about a girl named Delilah who is very passionate about ballet dancing. When Delilah discovers the impressionist painter, Degas, his paintings serve to fuel her imagination as she goes about her daily activities before ballet class. The paintings of adult ballerinas, which I’ve incorporated into the book, represent her dream of one day becoming a professional ballerina. My target audience is 4-6 year old children.

I am studying both English and Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Rhode Island. My academic efforts culminated in creating a children’s book as my senior honors …

Keeping History Alive: David Mccullough And The Debate Between Popular And Academic History, James R. Allen

History

The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences between academic history and popular history through David McCullough, one of the most successful popular history writers. It attempts to reconcile the schism between the two schools of thought, and provide a middle ground where each can stand.

Acting In An Antifoundational World: Conversation, Poetic Redescription, And Solidarity, Hem Paudel

All Theses

This thesis examines a central question that human beings face in an antifoundational world: If discourse communities create not only vocabularies but competing ways of seeing, how might we in general and professional communicators in particular act in a reasonable way? It suggests answers to this question by discussing Rorty's theory of language and truth. Rorty sets aside the foundationalist notion of metaphysical certainty with consensus beliefs achieved through conversation, which determines the utility of those beliefs to the community. Thus, Rorty changes the focus from what is right to what is helpful and changes the focus from what can …

Making Rhetorical Scents: An Olfactory Grammar Of Motives Based On Kenneth Burke's Pentad, Janet Miller

All Theses

Scent is inherently persuasive, but the language of scent is largely missing from rhetoric's vocabulary. This is because language cannot express the 'truth' of an odor. Identification of odor as substance is dependent on consubstantiality between the author and reader. We instead describe smells using metaphorical language, or by invoking episodic memories and emotional reactions. In this way, scent is dramatistic. In order to consider the possibility of a grammar of scent beyond metaphor, the author develops an olfactory pentad (Sniff, Context, Emanation, Odor Object, and Response) by applying the framework of Kenneth Burke's dramatistic pentad. In this way, scent …

Analisis Gaya Bahasa Pujian Dan Celaan Dalam Al-Quran., Azhari Hamzah

Student Works (2010-2019)

This research is done to study, analyse and explain one important aspect of the Arabic Language, which is the Glorifying and Reprimanding Language Style. In this research the writer chooses all the glorifying and reprimanding verses in the Holy al- Quran. There are two types of glorifying and reprimanding language style in the al- Quran, the written and the unwritten. The written type of glorifying and reprimanding is syntax studies while the unwritten type is semantic. The focus of this research is only on the written type. Therefore, it is done based on the Arabic Language syntax. This research divides …

Analisis Isti'arah Dalam Kitab Riya:D Al-Sa:Lihi:N., Mohamad Syukri Abdul Rahman

Student Works (2010-2019)

This research studies the concept of al-’Istica:rat in the hadith in Riya:d al-Sa:lihi:n. In general it concerned with the rhetoric of the Prophetic tradition particularly the concept of al-’Istica:rat and its impact in understanding the meaning of the Tradition among Muslim scholars in Peninsular Malaysia. It covers all aspects of the study; the theoretical and the analytical aspects as well as the field research. As for the theoretical aspect of the study, it discusses the important aspects of the rhetoric of the hadith. Among others, it discusses the definition of al-Baya:n al-Nabawiyy and the characteristic and the speciality of …

The Annie Prey Jorgensen Papers: Nineteenth-Century Writing Instruction And Women's Rhetoric On The Plains, Renee Mcgill

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examines the college and professional writing of Annie Prey Jorgensen, who attended the University of Nebraska during the 1890s as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Annie’s collection of papers, housed in Archives and Special Collections at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, offers composition and rhetoric significant insights about women college students’ rhetorical practices at the end of the nineteenth century. Specifically, Annie uses personal experience and narrative techniques to deploy a feminist rhetorical strategy that allows her to inscribe gendered experience into academic writing. Annie’s collection offers a cross-section of writing from three sites of inquiry—the papers …

Rhiz|Comics: The Structure, Sign, And Play Of Image And Text, Jason Helms

All Dissertations

This dissertation combines Gregory Ulmer's post-criticism with multimodal composition resulting in a work that critiques the medium of comics in comics format. Six traditional text chapters forge a theoretical and practical foundation; punctuated within and without by occasional visual interludes and three comic sections. I advocate teaching multimodal composition through comics' interplay of image and text.

Screen/Writing: Time & Cinematics In An Age Of Rhetorical Memory, Joshua Hilst

All Dissertations

This essay argues that part of memory is external to ourselves. This memory, which began with writing but has since grown to encompass digital media, the internet, and other forms of new media, faces a two-fold problem in the information age. The first is privatization, which is represented by copyright, and has heretofore received a greater share of scholarly attention. Regulation is represented through the concept of protocols, which are the rules digital media execute in order to perform functions. Protocols are a regulation of external memory, which I argue also represents a threat to deliberation, the form of rhetoric …

Diabolical Ventriloquism: A Case Study In Rhetorical Transcendence With C. S. Lewis’S Infamous Imp Screwtape, Daniel J. Coyle

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Most religious discourse is predicated on the assumption that our choices in life have eternal implications. For those who subscribe to a belief in an afterlife, rhetoric which exploits eternity to form attitudes and induce actions can be especially persuasive. This study performs a detailed analysis of a particularly compelling case of the rhetoric of eternity during the twentieth century: C.S. Lewis‘s fictional demon Screwtape. In The Screwtape Letters and ―Screwtape Proposes a Toast,‖ Lewis offers readers an eternal, though diabolical, perspective of the ―modern‖ intellectual climate during the twentieth century. By puppeteering a demon in prose, Lewis satirically lampoons …

A Rhetorical History Of The Office Of Legal Counsel, William O’Donnal Saas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

For over seventy-five years, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has played a significant role in the crafting of executive policy rhetoric. Yet, within the scholarship in presidential and rhetorical studies, the OLC remains one of the least understood and, thus, underappreciated forces behind executive policy action. This thesis seeks to bridge the research gap by: (1) accounting for the OLC's rhetorical history through discussion of available "opinions" and their rhetorical consequences; and (2) by submitting a case study from the OLC's rhetorical history to critical analysis. Often, I will argue, the OLC "co-invented" international and domestic policies with White …

Working Rhetoric And Composition., Bruce Horner, Min-Zhan Lu

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Given the multiple meanings of rhetoric and composition, as well as the vexed history of institutional relationships between these two terms, it is important for scholars to trace how they are “worked”—that is, how they materially function—in a variety of specific circumstances.

Extending Transfer In Composition: Exploring A Model For Conceptualizing Rhetorical Problems, Janet Roser

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the use of a new rhetorical problem-solving model for writing instruction to create opportunities for abstract thinking and extend the transfer of rhetorical knowledge. The author conducts a qualitative research study on the transfer of rhetorical knowledge by interviewing former students and evaluating their writing samples written in their courses beyond composition. By revisiting the early cognitive writing process research of Linda Flower and John R. Hayes, evaluating the differences between novice and expert writers, and creating corollaries with David Perkins and Gavriel Salomon’s theories on transfer, the author identifies markers for transfer within the rhetorical situation …

Narrative Distance In The Works Of George Gordon, Lord Byron, And Jonathan Swift, Or "A Digression In Praise Of Digressions", Samantha M. Cash, E. Derek Taylor Ph.D.

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis reviews and discusses narrative distance in the works of George Gordon, Lord Byron, and Jonathan Swift or “A Digression in Praise of Digressions.” Byron takes on multiple roles in his poetry. Swift provided Byron a model for how to negotiate the boundaries of fictional self-fashioning and biographical revelation. Bryon’s technique of presenting a version of himself while simultaneously maintaining narrative distance is a distinct characteristics of Swift’s work. The thesis adapts to an important fact in that Byron, although writing in the age of Romanticism, significantly and unflinchingly sought distance between himself and Romantic figures.

Ghost Hunting: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The American Media On The Waterboard, William Saas

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project looks at popular media hands-on investigations of the waterboard (an interrogation method used in the war on terror, viewed historically as "torture") to discover what I argue are the haunting effects of the second Bush administration's rhetorical war.

The Rhetorical Significance Of Gojira, Shannon Stevens

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project tackles the 1954 Japanese film Gojira, known to most Americans as Godzilla. By examining the strong emotions expressed in the film’s narrative, we can begin to understand better the experience of the Japanese survivor of World War II. Specifically, by studying the way the primary emotional responses to a war experience (guilt/anger, pain/suffering, and powerlessness/fear) are represented in the film it is possible to see how Gojira functions rhetorically to provide for the Japanese people a safe venue for post-war expression and healing.

Bits And Pieces, Christina West

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

"Yeah, but what does it mean?" A sculptor's candid and charming exploration of how she's frequently asked to communicate the complex.

I'M Not Really A Chaplain; I Just Play One To Pay The Bills, Jodi Kushins

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

She almost missed her calling. A new chaplain's story of how a major career shift has led to rhetorical insights and spiritual play.

How Genders Work: Producing The J.Crew Catalog, Paul Muhlhauser, Kelly Bradbury

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

J.CREW is selling more than just chinos. Two professors' satirical take on what we learn about genders and work through catalog communication.

Harlot Works It, Harlot Editors

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

Welcome to Harlot's fourth issue! With the special theme of "Rhetoric at Work," this collection offers fresh insights into our everyday experiences through a lens of work-related issues.

The Misplaced Rhetoric Of Medicine, John A. Vaughn, M.D.

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

For this doctor, practicing rhetoric is a key part of practicing medicine. The communicative bond between doctor and patient, however, is being influenced by other, powerfully persuasive forces.

Understanding The Other Side: An Officer's Roadside Confessions", Warren Williams

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

It's easy to assume that the cop giving you a ticket is simply out to get you. Perhaps too easy? An officer's reflections on the dynamics of the traffic stop ask that you try to see it from another perspective.

Land Rehabilitation Awareness, Travis Christensen, Cam Dufty

Service-Learning Program

Service Project Purpose: Create a kiosk (sign) to help educate the public on rangeland health and foothills restoration strategies. Learning Goals: To apply course principles to a workplace project, to meet a need in the community, to gain valuable workplace experience, and to better understand how writing skills can be used in the community.

Review: Southern Bedtime Stories, Shelley L. Smith

Georgia Library Quarterly

Review of the memoir "Southern Bedtime Stories," by Tim McWhorter.

Pragmatism, Disciplinarity And Making The Work Of Writing Visible In The 21st Century, Michael W. Kelly

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation outlines how Pragmatism, as a philosophy richly conceived, can act as a useful intervention on three levels ranging from the pedagogical issues surrounding teaching writing teacher to labor issues Composition. In contemporary writing center scholarship, conversations about the utility of theory are hotly debated. Throughout much of its disciplinary history, much writing center scholarship has taken a decidedly best practices approach to its research. This emphasis on applicability is challenged by the trend in some pockets of the field that have incorporated a theoretical bent into their work. The effect of this work has been met with skepticism. …

Writing Center Outreach: What It Is And Why It Matters, Christine B. Ghattas

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Christine B. Ghattas argues that writing centers need to enact outreach programs that show faculty and students what goes on in writing centers and the ways writing centers benefit from the university community. She presents a description of the current situation of writing centers, an explanation of how outreach works, a case study of an outreach program in action, and ideas and recommendations for the future of writing center outreach.

Editing An Anthology: Editing, Publishing & Blogging, Jessica R. Allgaier

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Editorial work for proposed anthology collection, "The Oxford American Book of Great Nonfiction Writing"