Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

Military & Media: A Close Contexual Analysis Of Moveon.Org's Controversial Attack Ad Of General David Petraeus, Joseph Jordan Vignolo

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Amanda Knox And Bella Figura, Denise Scannell Guida

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Elm In The Courtroom: Application To Trial Juries, Natalie Claire Hopkins

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Jackie Robinson: Impact The Game, Evan W. Busby

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

"Bridesmaids": A Modern Response To Patriarchy, Blair Buckley

Communication Studies

This senior project analyzes the rhetorical means by which the movie "Bridesmaids" rejects yet also heeds to patriarchal standards. In this paper I examine the film by performing a feminist critique, also employing elements of ideological criticism.

The Reality Of Fiction: A Textual Analysis Of Verisimilitude In The Appeal, Stephanie M. Taft

Communication Studies

This project assesses the verisimilitude and plausibility of John Grisham's novel, The Appeal. While labeled as a fiction work, I argue that his book should resonate with readers and be taken seriously as it mirrors American culture. It speaks back to America's government, judicial and legal systems. I invoke statistics and a prominent law case that show why Grisham's book is not completely fictitious in any regard. The novel is highly applicable to society today, as corporate scandals and corruption seem to always surface. I also discuss how the book is relatable to the real world by discussing some of …

The People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (Peta): Creating A Collective Identity, Megan Fletcher

Honors Program Theses and Projects

How different are humans from animals? The animal rights movement has been tackling this question and more on its quest to establish basic human rights for animals. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is one of the most recognizable organizations within the animal rights movement due to their attention grabbing antics and controversial advertisements. Through visual rhetoric PETA attempts to answer the question of human and animal division. In both PETA’s PSA and print advertisements they attempt to create shared physical and mental substance between humans and animals. In creating a shared identity PETA could establish a …

"Terrorism" In The Age Of Obama: The Rhetorical Evolution Of President Obama’S Discourse On The War On "Terror", Kelly Long

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Since September 11th, 2001, the word “terrorism” has helped to shape and been shaped by the culture of the American people who have come into contact with this concept on a daily basis. The use of “terrorism” and its companion the War on “Terror” carried with it certain ideological baggage that has serve as a prism in which the American people have viewed United States’ foreign affairs over the past decade. The fight against “terrorism” offered a pre-text for the U.S. to engage in two different wars, administrated a policy of hunting and killing “terrorists” across the globe, constructed policies …

Activism, Deliberation, And Networked Public Screens: Rhetorical Scenes From The Occupy Moment In Lincoln, Nebraska (Part 1 & 2), Joshua P. Ewalt, Jessy J. Ohl, Damien S. Pfister

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Part 1 of this manuscript is a dramatization of five rhetorical scenes that take the Occupy phenomenon as a moment to explore features of contemporary social protest and change. Drawing on rhetorical field notes collected over the first two weeks of Occupy Lincoln in Nebraska, we identify how historical tensions between activism and deliberation were both complicated and reasserted as the Occupy moment became a movement. The rhetorical scenes partially replicate actual conversations, though they are remediated through three composite figures: Anda, a longtime social activist; John, an advocate of democratic deliberation; and Dajuan, an undergraduate organizer of the local …

The Risks And Rewards Of Serving As A Department Chair, Jon A. Hess

Communication Faculty Publications

Serving as chair is a significant point in the career of any faculty member who inhabits the office. It is a position with high highs and low lows, significant stressors and some perks, the chance to have a positive impact on a program, and the near certainty that at some point you will generate disagreement with almost everyone in the department. The department chair is a boundary position between the university administration and the faculty; a chair inhabits both worlds, but resides fully in neither. Chairs are charged with numerous responsibilities and often lack full authority needed to accomplish their …

President Barack Obama And The Commencement Of A New Perspective On Epideictic Speeches, Milene Ortega Ribeiro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Commencement speakers are typically expected to praise students and motivate them. When the commencement speaker is a President, the expectation is different. This thesis investigated the functions of epideictic address in light of the rhetorical presidency doctrine. Close textual analysis of the three most controversial commencement speeches delivered by President Barack Obama revealed that the challenge of fulfilling the expectations of a commencement address, while responding to rhetorical problems, required the President to adopt complex rhetorical strategies. The predominant strategies included humor, strategic use of rhetorical presence, and ideological identification. The President used strategies that allowed him to be the …

Taking Culture And Philosophy Into Consideration: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Marketing Strategies In China, Yi Huang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Globalization makes the physical boundary between countries almost disappear, while on the other hand, it exacerbates cultural and philosophical differences. The overall aim of this dissertation is to dig into the philosophical values of Western and Chinese cultures to provide some theoretically sound and pragmatically useful guidance for future communication and marketing in China.

While some American corporations have been embraced by the Chinese, many more have not. This research concerns itself with searching what the leading causes are for the above phenomenon, and more specifically, this study explores answers to the following questions:

• What strategies are used for product …

Playing Politics With Rape: Republican Apologia In The 2012 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, Kelsey Deforest

Hollins Student Conference (2012-2016)

During the second half of 2012, heightened scrutiny was applied to Republican politicians’ discussion of sexual assault. This wave of interrogation, though, began too late to affect the debates over the 2012 Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization. This paper will problematize these debates by analyzing the rhetoric of self-defense used by Republican legislators in the House of Representatives to defend their VAWA Reauthorization bill. By applying a feminist critical discourse analysis to the final VAWA Reauthorization debate held on May 16, 2012, this paper shows that the actions of the Republican legislators are rooted in a desire to protect the …

A Style Of His Own: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Barack Obama, Victoria West

Hollins Student Conference (2012-2016)

This paper analyzes President Obama’s rhetoric in his two inaugural addresses in order to determine how his presidential rhetoric conforms to and violates current rhetorical traditions in inaugural addresses. For this paper a rhetorical analysis of Obama’s addresses was performed using a form of genre criticism. The components for this genre criticism were drawn from Vanessa B. Beasley’s work on presidential rhetoric in her book You, the People: American National Identity in Presidential Rhetoric. Anticipated results of this analysis will show that President Obama’s presidential rhetoric is more secular than previous presidents. The results will also illustrate that President Obama’s …

President Barack Obama's Commencement Addresses: Revising The Functions Of Ceremonial Rhetoric, Milene Ortega Ribeiro

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Commencement speakers are typically expected to praise students for their achievements and motivate them for the path that is to come. When the commencement speaker is a President, however, the expectation is different. In times of rhetorical presidency, no presidential address is apolitical, and this project investigated the functions of ceremonial rhetoric in light of the rhetorical presidency doctrine. Close textual analysis of the three most controversial commencement speeches delivered by President Obama, revealed that the challenge of fulfilling the expectations of a commencement address, while also responding to rhetorical problems, required the President to adopt complex rhetorical strategies. The …

“Thank You” For Reading This Column, Gene Kruckemyer

UCF Forum

There’s a virus going around that many people likely will think is not a problem – but unfortunately it is something that seems to be more and more irritatingly commonplace.

Elder Selection: Engaging The Monterey Church Of Christ In A Collaborative Elder Selection Process, Benjamin D. Pickett

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the outcomes of a project intended to foster greater collaboration at the Monterey Church of Christ in its selection of elders. The intervention involved the engagement of the Monterey Church in a process that involved multiple steps. These steps involved engagement with teachers in the context of a teacher training seminar, with Bible classes in a series of Bible lessons, and with elders, elder nominees, and their spouses in order to discern the perceived degree to which Monterey members participate in the elder selection process. The Bible lessons presented an alternative model for theological …

Because I Said So: Constructing Identities In Argentina's Dirty War, Danielle N. Olean

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Social Media And The Transformation Of The Humanitarian Narrative: A Comparative Analysis Of Humanitarian Discourse In Libya 2011 And Bosnia 1994, Ellen Noble

Political Science Honors Projects

Within humanitarian discourse, there is a prevailing narrative: the powerful liberal heroes are saving the helpless, weak victims. However, the beginning of the 21^st century marks the expansion of the digital revolution throughout lesser-developed states. Growing access to the Internet has enabled aid recipients to communicate with the outside world, giving them an unprecedented opportunity to reshape discourses surrounding humanitarianism. Through a comparative discourse analysis of Libyan Tweets, 1994 newspaper reports on Bosnia, and 2011 newspaper reports on Libya, this paper analyzes whether aid recipient discourse can resist the dominant humanitarian narrative and if that resistance can influence dominant …

Fifteen Percent Or More: A Content Analysis Of Geico's Commercial Advertising, Paul Davis

Masters Theses

In this media saturated world which is lived in today, the general public is bombarded by a multitude of advertisements. This thesis was conducted to examine Geico's commercial advertising looking specifically at their use of humor. The Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Humorous Message Taxonomy were used to conduct this content analysis. The research examined the route of persuasion and elaboration that were used in 60 Geico commercials from five of their most recent campaigns. The Humorous Message Taxonomy helped to establish which types of humor were being used along with the processes and relationship between elements. Three research questions …

The Rhetorical Canon Of Memory And The Assistive Use Of Mnemonics, Jonathan Bobby

Masters Theses

People often imagine at some point in their existence what it would be like to have a photographic memory. However, this mental aptitude is a misnomer, and extremely rare in humankind. What we possess from our Creator is a photographic mind. Our memory recall is based on the recognition of visual pictures that appear in our mind. The early communication theorists illustrated this recognition and described it in the fourth canon of rhetoric. Because of the advancements in information technology, memory no longer holds the significance it once did. Numerous academic texts refer to memory as the lost art of …

Institutional Repositories Supporting Community Engagement: Campus And Community Partnerships At Linfield College, Kathleen Spring, Brenda Devore Marshall

Faculty & Staff Presentations

Building partnerships with community-oriented research centers and departments is one of the best ways to develop an institutional repository into a valued community resource. This presentation examines partnerships with the Linfield Center for the Northwest (LCN) and the Department of Theatre and Communication Arts to demonstrate how Linfield’s institutional repository supports faculty research, student internships, multimedia exhibits, oral histories, and original theatrical productions.

All You Need Is Capitalism?: An Ideological Criticism Of The Beatles-Jackson Auction Controversy, Arianna Marie Chopelas

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

A Twist In Hip Hop Culture--A Feminist Perspective, Brandon Edward Michalkiewicz

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The “Carousel Effect” In Forensic Research, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Stephen M. Croucher

National Forensic Journal

Our purpose is to determine if an anecdotal pattern we have seen emerging at the National Communication Association (NCA) conference holds true. We have noticed that forensic panels at NCA, and specifically individual events (IE) panels, appear to revolve around similar themes. Scholars interested in IE issues may be repeating themselves. The result is a “carousel effect”: the papers/panels go round‘n‘round the same ideas. Our analysis identified two findings: (1) 25 research themes are evident in forensics and three themes comprise the focus of most of the research; (2) qualitative analysis showed repetition among the titles of forensic research. We …

Antidosis For A Forensics Life: An Isocratic Defense Of Modern Practices Of Competitive Forensics, Aaron Duncan

National Forensic Journal

The forensics community is under attack from inside and outside the coaching profession. It is important that we as coaches defend our practices and justify the value of the activity. Despite his prominence in his own time and his influence over the development of rhetoric, the work of Isocrates has not been utilized to craft a defense of forensics. Similar to the situation we face today, Isocrates also had to defend his practices as a teacher of rhetoric. Using his works Antidosis and Against the Sophist, I attempt to craft a defense for the practices of the modern forensics community.

A Superpower Apologizes? President Clinton’S Address In Rwanda, Jason Edwards, Thomasena Shaw

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The failure to intervene in Rwanda was one of the greatest foreign policy mishaps of Bill Clinton's presidency. In March 1998, Clinton made an extended tour of the African subcontinent with a stop in Rwanda. During his brief visit, the president attempted to repair the image of the United States among Rwandans and the broader international community. Clinton used three primary image repair strategies: democratization of blame, corrective action, and transcendence. Despite his emphasis on the important lessons that the world could learn from the Rwandan genocide, we argue that his rhetorical choices ultimately undermined his larger mission and led …

Corporate Historical Responsibility (Chr): Addressing A Past Of Forced Labor At Volkswagen, Claudia Janssen Danyi

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

This article introduces corporate historical responsibility (CHR), a concept that can guide organizations when addressing dark corporate histories. CHR holds that organizations have responsibilities toward victims of past corporate practices and toward present reconciliatory discourse. Volkswagen’s discourse about its history of forced labor during WW II serves as an example of CHR. The rhetorical analysis illustrates that CHR hinges on the recognition of the past as a moral issue and on the organization’s ability to create historical accountability, take responsibility, make public acknowledgements, and remember its past. It further illustrates that CHR creates sustainable policies that can strengthen corporate citizenship …

Building Coalitions, Making Policy: The Politics Of The Clinton, Bush, And Obama Presidencies, By Martin A. Levin, Daniel Disalvo, And Martin M. Shapiro, Eds., José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Full Volume, Nfa Journal

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.