Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Darron Devillez: What Forensics Did For Me, Darron Devillez

Speaker & Gavel

ALUMNI CORNER: The forensic community is filled with alumni who will tout the benefits they received through their participation in intercollegiate speech and debate activities. As directors of forensics programs face battles for budgets and sometimes for their program’s very existence, having a collection of published testimonies about the positive influence of forensics can be a tremendous help. To that end, Speaker & Gavel is setting aside space in each issue for our alumni to talk about how forensics has helped them in their professional life. These are our alumni’s stories.

Suzanne Miller-Mcfeeley: What Forensics Did For Me, Suzanne Miller-Mcfeeley

Speaker & Gavel

ALUMNI CORNER: The forensic community is filled with alumni who will tout the benefits they received through their participation in intercollegiate speech and debate activities. As directors of forensics programs face battles for budgets and sometimes for their program’s very existence, having a collection of published testimonies about the positive influence of forensics can be a tremendous help. To that end, Speaker & Gavel is setting aside space in each issue for our alumni to talk about how forensics has helped them in their professional life. These are our alumni’s stories.

Justifying Debate As “Cerebral Gymnastics” And As “Glorification Of The Experience Of Play”: An Alternative To William Hawley Davis’S Rejection Of The “Debate As Gaming” Vision For Debate, Matthew P. Brigham

Speaker & Gavel

William Hawley Davis’s “Is Debate Primarily A Game?” (1916) represents an early, prominent effort to justify academic, intercollegiate debate and also, indirectly, societal debate. Davis sharply rebukes those who would conceptualize and/or practice academic debate as if it were a game, arguing instead for a version of debate that more closely approximates real democratic deliberation and thus cultivates the training necessary for meaningful public participation on serious issues. This essay explores other possible justifications for debate, including those that might re-claim play, game, and/or sport. Such alternatives suggest the importance of conceiving debate beyond tragic frames and Platonic Truth claims, …

Recasting The Founding Fathers: The Tea Party Movement, Neoliberalism, And American Myth, Calvin Coker

Speaker & Gavel

This article analyzes representative texts from the Tea Party Movement (TPM), a conservative American political movement, to demonstrate the TPM uses the myth of the Founding Fathers as an argumentative strategy to craft and justify a sanitary neoliberal political project. The necessity of such of a project lies in the underlying democratic crisis of neoliberalism, a crisis navigated by the TPM through strategic use of political myth. Neoliberal policies require, in many instances, democratic consent, though those policies often serve to disenfranchise many of the groups supporting them. This essay argues the TPM uses myth for the purpose of creating …

Meta-Analysis Of Research On The Functional Theory Of Political Campaign Discourse, William L. Benoit

Speaker & Gavel

Functional Theory has been applied to a variety of election campaign messages, including candidacy announcement speeches; TV spots; debates; direct mail brochures; candidate webpages; nomination acceptance addresses; vice presidential debates; senate, gubernatorial, and mayoral debates; senate, gubernatorial, and house TV spots; and debates and TV spots from other countries. This approach argues that election messages address one of three functions (acclaims, attacks, defenses) and one of two topics (policy, character). This study reports a meta-analysis of several Functional Theory predictions: acclaims are more common than attacks (defenses are consistently the least common function and were not tested here); policy is …

Front Matter

Speaker & Gavel

Front matter and table of contents for volume 54, issue 1 of Speaker & Gavel.

Guide To The Pyschological Development Of Expression Collection, College Archives & Special Collections

Collection Guides / Finding Aids

This guide describes the organization and scope of the Psychological Development of Expression books from the Columbia School of Oratory archival collection, housed within the College Archives and Special Collections at Columbia College Chicago. The Psychological Development of Expression is four-volume set of texts on expression, public speaking, and oratory for practical use by students of the Columbia School of Oratory in Chicago.

Mechanisms And Implications Of Identity Hybridization In Online Advertorials, Christopher Lee Borntrager

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the ways corporate-sponsored image advertorials published in online platforms construct identities for their sponsor. By analyzing 6 advertorials from The Guardian Online as well as a user comment thread on the same website using critical linguistic analysis and conversation analysis, respectively, this study suggests that the identities constructed in corporate-sponsored advertorials are a hybridized form, claiming both the goals of a corporation and the social legitimacy of a professional activist. To construct these hybrid identities, the advertorials in this sampling used specific linguistic strategies to demonstrate agency with regard to a specific social issue while seeming to …

Understanding Discourse Transition, Taylor Weeks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work is intended to explore and analyze the process of transition from one discourse to another different discourse.

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Argument Education In Higher Education: A Validation Study, Paul E. Mabrey Iii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Argument education can play an important role in higher education for leadership development and responding to increasing calls for post-secondary accountability. But to do so, argumentation teachers, scholars, and practitioners need to develop a clearer definition and research agenda for the purposes of teaching and assessing argumentation. The research conducted here contributes to this project by first establishing a definitional construct and observable behaviors associated with learning and practicing argumentation. Second, an argument education assessment instrument was created based off of the literature-supported definition of argumentation. Third, debate and argument education subject matter experts reviewed the definition, behaviors, and assessment …

An Ideological Criticism Of Todrick Hall's Visual Album Straight Outta Oz, Rachel Moss

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

American entertainer Todrick Hall released his visual album Straight Outta Oz in 2016 in order to communicate his views on a wide range of topics from sexuality to family life. Hall used the video to advance challenging ideologies that discuss the harmful effects of the church on LGBTQ+ youth, problems the LGBTQ+ community face, the discrimination faced by black Americans, and pitfalls of the entertainment industry, with the purpose of forming a call to action for society to advocate for equality. By placing these themes into a medium popular at the time of release, Hall created a better chance for …

Getting Somewhere: People V. Turner (2016) And The Efficacy Of Survivor Narratives, Gheorghe L. Williams

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

An examination of the narrative and rhetorical techniques employed in survivor narratives, and how these have been necessitated by legal biases and unjust social and cultural practices.

Somos España: Building A New Spanish Identity, Lakelyn Taylor

Honors Theses

Establishing an identity is inherent to all individuals and communities. Sometimes creating an identity must be taken a step further by reconstructing a pre-existing identity in exchange for a more favorable one. Spain is currently undergoing a process to reconstruct part of their identity from being a nation with a lazy culture to one that is more progressive. Some Spanish rhetoricians perceive the best way to change Spain’s identity is to eliminate the tradition of siesta time. This study examines the rhetoric that agents utilize in order to create an audience that will help to rhetorically construct Spain’s new identity. …

The Policy And Personal Motivations Behind The Endorsement Of Donald Trump By Four Evangelical Endorsers., Benjamin F Hachten

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

When it comes to the political realm, evangelicals often support candidates whose moral values and stances on social issues align with their religious preferences. Given the coalitions between evangelical leaders and Republican politicians dating back to the late 1970s, the fact that evangelical leaders would endorse the Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 election cycle would not have been an issue of contention had that candidate not been Donald Trump, a man whose rhetoric and actions were, at times, antithetical to evangelical Christianity. Although many evangelical leaders denounced Trump and encouraged their supporters to do the same, some leaders of …

Communication Apprehension Among Community College Students: A Phenomenology, John R. Bragg Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of communication apprehension among a purposeful sample of five community college students with high levels of communication apprehension. The phenomenon of Communication Apprehension (CA) is “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Beatty, McCroskey, & Heisel, 1998, p. 197; McCroskey, 1970, p. 269). All individuals experience some level of CA, and between 30% and 40% of individuals are estimated to experience high levels of CA. For the community college student with high levels of CA, the introductory communication course …

Barack Obama’S Rhetoric Of Hope For Racial Reconciliation: An Examination Of American Mainstream Media’S Framing Of That Message, Zainul Abedin

Dissertations

This study explored Barack Obama’s rhetorical message for racial reconciliation and the framing of that message by the American mainstream news media. The study investigated Obama’s messages in texts and sound-bites of the news media—The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. The research included Obama’s speeches on three major occasions from 2008 to 2014—(1) “a more perfect union” speech on March 18, 2008, in Philadelphia; (2) Washington speech on August 28, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of MLK’s “I have a dream” speech; and (3) LBJ Library speech on April …

Choosing The Best: A Rhetorical Analysis And Discussion Of An Abstinence-Centered Sexuality Education Curriculum, Carolyn Buonomo

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

This rhetorical analysis examines Choosing the Best Journey, a Choosing the Best, LLC student manual targeted at ninth and tenth grade students, and testimonials from the company’s website to provide insight about the ways in which the company’s curricula position women. In what way does this content position women in relation to men? Does the curriculum position women as those who both hold the responsibility for preventing and bearing the burden of premarital sexual activity? In what ways does this content work to reinforce gender stereotypes? By answering these questions, I am able to determine whether the curriculum works …

Sexuality & Perspective, Emma Tabei, Emily Ellison, Tyrell J. Osborn, Ileana Garnand

Collin College Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference

Panel Chair: Whitney Pisani

Papers Presented:

"Siren's Song of Sapiosexuality" by Emma Tabei

Abstract: Gender and male and female communications is discussed just as much if not more than politics currently. As we get more and more interested in understanding communication between genders, perhaps we need to look at where we came from instead of guessing what will happen next. Homer's, "Odyssey," specifically the "Siren's Song," pits male and female gender roles and perspectives against each other resulting in an untraditional look at modern female and male communications far ahead of Homer’s time; departing from the stereotypical gender looking glass. …

What Happens At Camp Does Not Stay At Camp: A Rhetorical Analysis On The American Camp Association's 'Mission And Vision' Page, Abigail W. Fiege

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research on mission statements as a genre of rhetoric and evaluation of the American Camp Association's mission and vision webpage based on found criteria.

An Analysis Of George Wallace And His First Inaugural Address As Governor Of Alabama, Logan D. Dupuy

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

To understand Governor George Wallace of Alabama, one has to look back at his watershed moment. The 1958 election for governor. From there, one can attempt to explain how Wallace became a figure of tragedy (by his own doing though) and how he had to sell his soul for the governorship. After understanding what made George Wallace tick, I shall move into his inaugural speech in 1963. By explaining this fiery speech through ideological criticism, one will be able to better comprehend the subtleties of both the man and the times. The bulk of the ideological criticism will be on …

Beyond Promotional: Michelle Obama And The Let Girls Learn Initiative, Isabella Bauer

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Based on a research completed for Rhetorical Research Methods course, three of Michelle Obama's addresses for her Let Girls Learn initiative will be analyzed using cluster criticism.

Just Entertainment: Analyzing The Impacts Of The Narratives In Rap Music, Pamela Michelle Reed

Theses and Dissertations

Does rap music, rich in narratives and metaphors, play a role in shaping the values, beliefs, ideologies and subsequent behaviors of its listeners? We use narratives and proverbs to shape the values, morals, beliefs and subsequent behaviors of our children, so at what point in our lives do they stop functioning in the same manner? Can you recall the day or the moment when narratives no longer affected your belief systems and behaviors? The purpose of this research is to determine whether or not the narratives in rap music have an impact on the personal narratives of persons entering the …

Regulating Pavement Dwellers: The Politics Of The Visibly Poor In Public Space, Lauren Marie Larin

Dissertations and Theses

Many researchers argue the increasing reliance on sit/lie ordinances to regulate homeless people's use of public space is one in a suite of neoliberal policies that shape the geographies of public space in cities to serve the needs of global capital. However, these policies are developed at the local, not global, level as specific actors make claims in the public sphere that communicatively shape policy formation. Through comparative case study, this research asks, how do different actors, situated in specific local and global contexts, influence the adoption of sit/lie ordinances?

I examine two cases of policymaking in Portland and San …

Authenticity In College Classrooms: A Qualitative Study Exploring Student Perceptions And Instructor Insights, Ursula Vanantwerp

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The political and financial disturbances that have occurred in recent times have created a universal desire for trustworthy leadership. This widespread unrest makes the study of authentic leadership a timely and worthwhile pursuit. The purpose of this study is to examine how college students identify authentic instructors and explore how authentic instructors view themselves. Through a textural analysis of five college students and four college instructors interviewed in-depth in 2016, the findings indicated that the students identified as authentic the professors who shared common interests, showed interest in them, and were comfortable with who they were as instructors. Instructors that …

Sexy Robots: A Perpetuation Of Patriarchy, Ashlyn Des Roches

Communication Studies

This feminist critique looks into the way that gender, specifically females, are portrayed in some of Hollywood's top films involving Artificial Intelligence: Blade Runner, Her, and Ex Machina. These movies work as a perpetuation of patriarchal ideologies while maintaining the objectification and hypersexuality of women as normalized behaviors. Additionally, while some forms of empowerment are conveyed, the features illustrate women merely on a spectrum of extreme behavior; due to Heuristics and Cultivation Theory, these misrepresentations can be associated with women outside the surrealist realm of the depicted artificially intelligent worlds.

A Rhetorical Criticism Of Waiting For Superman, Jordan L. Baxter

Communication Studies

This project analyzes the documentary Waiting for Superman in order to better understand the rhetoric surrounding public education in America. I perform a close textual analysis of the documentary and explore the rhetorical strategies the film uses to persuade its audience. Through my analysis I argue that Waiting for Superman employs rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos to successfully characterize the public school system as a failing institution. This failure is largely blamed on teachers unions who are vilified throughout the film and shown to be preventing progressive reforms from passing. Lastly, through the use of identification Waiting for …

Politics In 140 Characters Or Less: Social Media Sites As A Platform For Political Discussion, Jamie Brackpool

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Call For Manuscripts, Joseph P. Mazer

Basic Communication Course Annual

Submissions are invited for publication consideration in Volume 30 of the Basic Communication Course Annual (2018). Managed by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association and published by the University of Dayton, the Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course. Each article will be published online and indexed on the journal’s website.

All manuscripts submitted to the Annual will undergo blind peer review. Two or three members of the editorial board read and review each manuscript. The …

Centering Information Literacy (As) Skills And Civic Engagement In The Basic Communication Course: An Integrated Course Library Collaboration, Liliana Herakova, Jennifer Bonnet, Mark Congdon Jr.

Basic Communication Course Annual

In an era of proliferating “fake news” stories (Fisher, Cox, & Herman, 2016; Mikkelson, 2016; Rutenberg, 2016; Tavernise, 2016), and a “post-truth” political climate (Higgins, 2016; Oxford Dictionaries, 2016), the need to pair public communication and civil discourse with information literacy instruction is more important than ever. A recent study by researchers at Stanford University revealed an alarming trend among students from middle school to college: while students at various stages of their formative education may have a facility with social media use and Internet navigation, they are easily deceived when asked to determine if the information they have read …