Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Addressing Corporate Ties To Slavery: Corporate Apologia In A Discourse Of Reconciliation, Claudia Irene Janssen

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Pressured by activists to take responsibility, American corporations recently found themselves in the spotlight for their past ties to slavery. Responding to the issue, they stepped into a complex discourse of reconciliation. Taking a rhetorical approach, this article analyzes the response of Aetna Inc. It explores how corporate rhetoric functions within present discourses about historical injustices and illustrates that Aetna's response informed by common strategies of corporate apologia inhibited meaningful reconciliation. The article thus furthers criticisms of (corporate) apologia in the context of historical injustice and raises questions about the potentialities and limitations of corporate rhetoric for reconciliation.

The Ancient Roots Of Humor Theory, Lisa Glebatis Perks

Communication and Media Faculty Publications

Many modern humor scholars have oversimplified their summaries of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and Quintilian's views on humor, focusing on the philosophers' cautionary warnings about the rhetorical efficacy and ethics of humor Although the philosophers did write much on the offensive nature of jests, which can be considered illustrative of superiority theory, I describe elements of the incongruity and relief theories of humor motivation in their work. There is evidence to suggest that all four philosophers found humor to be a fitting and effective response to certain exigencies. It is more accurate to summarize their views thus: Humor has the potential …

Ford Foundation, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

No abstract provided.

Speech Center Support Services, The Basic Course, And Oral Communication Assessment, Karen Kangas Dwyer, Marlina M. Davidson

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study examines the role a speech center plays in supporting university-wide oral communication assessment. Specifically, this study queries student usage of speech center support services and perceived changes in public speaking anxiety, public speaking confidence, and public speaking skills. The findings indicate that students who report more visits to the speech center also perceive that using the speech center helped reduce their speech anxiety and increase their confidence in public speaking. In addition, those who report it “helpful” to self-evaluate recordings of their in-class speeches also report a greater reduction in speech anxiety, a greater increase in confidence, and …

Genesis In Hyperreality: Legitimizing Disingenuous Controversy At The Creation Museum, Casey R. Kelly, Kristen Hoerl

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This essay analyzes the argumentative structure of the "Answers in Genesis" ministry's Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Founded by a $27 million grant, the 70,000 square-foot museum appropriates the stylistic and authoritative signifiers of natural history museums, complete with technically proficient hyperreal displays and modern curatorial techniques. In this essay, we argue that the museum provides a culturally authoritative space in which Young Earth Creationists can visually craft the appearance that there is an ongoing scientific controversy over matters long settled in the scientific community (evolution), or what scholars call a disingenuous or manufactured controversy. We analyze the displays and …

Adding Glamour To Theory: Experiencing Theory In The Basic Course In Interpersonal Communication, Thomas Joseph Socha

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Focusing on the use of popular magazines in interpersonal communication instruction, this paper argues that such magazines can provide a rich source for application and criticism of interpersonal communication processes in everyday life. The first section of the paper reviews research and criticism dealing with the content of magazine articles that offer advice on interpersonal relationships and related topics, noting that such research and criticism are rare in the field. The second section provides a framework for integrating popular literature into the interpersonal course by discussing three methods of integration: critique application, discussion application, and role-play application. The third section …

Visible Identities, Visual Rhetoric: The Self-Labeled Body As A Popular Platform For Political Persuasion, Joel Penney

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines how political T-shirts--i.e., those featuring printed images, symbols, or words that make explicit reference to electoral politics--are used by their wearers as identity labels for the purpose of advancing persuasive messages in the public sphere.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Stephen K. Hunt, Joseph P. Mazer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Without question, the popularity of the basic course in communication continues to grow, further entrenching it as a staple of the communication discipline. As several basic course scholars have persuasively noted, in the last 20 years, more and more colleges and universities in the United States have been charged with the daunting task of establishing an introductory course in communication as a central feature of general education curriculum.

Given the popularity of the course and increasing pressures on basic course instructors/directors to document the effectiveness of the course, basic communication course scholarship is more important now than ever. For more …

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Students’ Attributions Of Instructor Credibility As A Function Of Instructors’ Out-Of-Class Support, Adam C. Jones, Paul Schrodt

Basic Communication Course Annual

This investigation examined the impact that instructor out-of-class support (OCS) and sex differences have on students’ perceptions of instructor credibility. Participants (N = 634) were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions manipulating the degree to which an instructor responds with a highly supportive, moderately supportive, or non-supportive message following a hypothetically stressful situation. Multivariate analyses revealed a two-way interaction effect of instructor OCS by student sex on perceptions of instructor credibility. Significant and meaningful main effects for instructor OCS on all three dimensions of credibility (i.e., competence, trustworthiness, and caring) were also obtained, with students attributing more credibility …

Trends In Communicative Self-Efficacy: A Comparative Analysis, Georgeta M. Hodis, Flaviu A. Hodis

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study integrates findings from the motivation-achievement and communication literature to underline the salient role that (communicative) self-efficacy beliefs play in academic settings. Additionally, this research shows that communicative self-efficacy beliefs can be accurately assessed by using a measure of self-perceived communication competence (SPCC). Using longitudinal data from 705 undergraduate students, the study shows that participants’ communicative self-efficacy beliefs increased linearly during the semester in which they were enrolled in a basic communication course. Finally, findings from this research indicate that the magnitude of change in self-efficacy was linked to the context of communication as well as attuned to the …

Developing Student-To-Student Connectedness: An Examination Of Instructors’ Humor, Nonverbal Immediacy, And Self-Disclosure In Public Speaking Courses, Robert J. Sidelinger, Brandi N. Frisby, Audra L. Mcmullen, Jennifer Heisler

Basic Communication Course Annual

Students often do not look forward to enrolling in public speaking courses, and therefore, it is warranted to examine opportunities to develop a supportive peer communication climate in what is typically seen as an anxiety inducing course. The present study collected data at three points in a semester (first day, mid-semester, and end-semester) to determine if initial perceptions of student-to-student connectedness and instructors’ communication behaviors (humor, nonverbal immediacy, and self-disclosure) lead to positive increases in student-to-student connectedness over the course of a semester in public speaking classes. Changes in perceptions of student-to-student connectedness at mid- and end-semester were predicted by …

I Need Help: Help Seeking Behaviors, Communication Anxiety And Communication Center Usage, C. Leigh Nelson, Toni S. Whitfield, Michelle Moreau

Basic Communication Course Annual

A web-based survey of 357 respondents enrolled in basic communication courses was conducted to examine communication center usage, communication apprehension, and help seeking behaviors. There was no significant difference between students who attended the communication center and those who did not in their communication apprehension and help seeking behaviors. There were significant correlations between help seeking behaviors and communication apprehension. Demographics, communication apprehension, and communication center usage and awareness predicted multiple types of help seeking behaviors.

Conflicting Advice On Oral Citations In Top Public Speaking Texts, Katherine N. Kinnick, Emily Holler

Basic Communication Course Annual

Learning to develop and deliver effective oral citations is an important speechmaking skill that helps to enhance the credibility of the speaker, the persuasiveness of the source, and reduce unintentional plagiarism. A content analysis of oral citation guidelines in the most widely-used public speaking textbooks reveals that they take different approaches to the topic of oral citations. The texts differ on the bibliographic elements that should be included in an oral citation, when an oral citation is necessary, and how oral citations should be introduced. In some cases, examples of citations in student speeches and chapter text do not follow …

Driveway Moments: Developing Syllabi According To Kenneth Burke, Kristen Lynn Majocha

Basic Communication Course Annual

Have you ever remained parked in your car in order to hear the end of a song or a news story? This is called a driveway moment (Pine, 2007). Kenneth Burke refers to this fulfilling of our desires, the desire for the conclusion, as an “appetite” that humans have for form (Burke, 1931). Songs have form, movies have form, literature has form. As teachers of the Basic Communication Course, we should recognize this appetite for form and incorporate form into our syllabi. Form in the way Kenneth Burke describes—form that has one part leading to the anticipation of another part—is …

Author Biographies

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Submission Guidelines

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Index Of Titles And Authors, Volumes 1-23

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 24

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (298 pages, 12.1 MB)

“All Girls Are Barbies”: A Feminist Critique Of Nicki Minaj’S Barbie Persona, Camellia Sarmadi

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Public Relations In Kenya: An Exploration Of Models And Cultural Influences, Dane M. Kiambi, Marjorie Keeshan Nadler

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This pioneer study explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public relations in Kenya, and the cultural values that influence this practice. Results show the personal influence model as the most used by practitioners in Kenya, while individualism is the most experienced cultural value. The strong correlation between personal influence model and Hofstede’s cultural value of femininity points to the practitioners’ strong desire for good interpersonal relationships with colleagues, supervisors, clients and key publics.

Ethnic Appeal: A Self-Defense Tool For Kenyan Politicians, Dane M. Kiambi

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

So far, analyses of apologetic rhetoric strategies as used by individuals or organizations to respond to accusations of wrongdoing have been concentrated in the West. An analysis of political apologia in an African setting — in this case Kenya — reveals that while Kenyan politicians have used denial, victimization, mortification, and counterattacking among other self-defense strategies, one particular strategy emerges as the most commonly used by Kenyan politicians — ethnic appeal.