As a rhetorical figure, the example is constitutively split between the structural vocations of the Greek "paradeigma" (emphasizing illumination and belonging) and the Latin "exemplum" (emphasizing detachment and exclusion). This bifurcation enables the example to function as a strategic resource of ambiguity. Christine de…

In this article, the author argues that Emerson repudiated the formalism of nineteenth century belletristic, mechanistic, reason-centered, American rhetoric influenced by Hugh Blair. Instead Emerson promoted a rhetoric with imagination at its center, which calls for civic duty. (Contains 33 notes.)

In this article, I trace appropriations of the Bengali bandit Devi Chaudhurani as she is transfigured within the Indian nationalist novel "Devi Chaudhurani" and the contemporary feminist street play "Meye Dile Sajiye" or "Giving Away the Girl." These representations are characterized by an eclecticism and a hybridity…

Scholars in rhetoric and composition have explored political issues of identity and language for some time; however, we have only begun to develop an understanding of why the identity politics of Native scholars are so different from other scholars of color and whites. Native scholars take considerable risks in composing identities--they can face…

This article presents the text of the author's address at the fifty-ninth annual convention of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) in March 2008. In her address, the author picks up strands of previous Chairs' addresses and weaves them through the fabric of her remarks. What she hopes will give sheen to the fabric is her…

Examines Ciceronian "inventio," comparing it with twentieth century philosophical stances in several contexts. Urges composition teachers to revive the rhetoric of Cicero, particularly its use of pro and con debate. (MM)

In a reflection on her teaching practices, Wendy Bishop in "Teaching Lives" suggests that over time she became a "social expressivist," in that by writing about her own teaching she learned "to develop a personal voice within the public matrix of professional communities" (ix). For the compositionist committed to the…

The author elaborates a vision of classroom discourse that actively involves students and that uses students' explanations to develop mathematical ideas. The skills students develop reflect disciplinary learning in their ability to interact with ideas, offering evidence for their propositions, and reacting thoughtfully and constructively to…

High school teacher Melissa Troise challenges students to recognize the relationships that exist between literary theories, such as Marxism, feminism, and postcolonialism, and urges students to expand their contexts for reading texts by accessing and combining theories. Troise believes theory provides students with the potential to better…

The article explores writing-centered pedagogies that deepen student learning in literature survey courses. More broadly, the article also responds to Richard Fulkerson and Maureen Daly Goggin, who challenge professors of English studies to find disciplinary unity within the diverse epistemologies of rhetoric. (Contains 5 notes.)

Joe Karbo, author of "The Lazy Man's Way to Riches," has pioneered several of the techniques used in get-rich-quick schemes. A typical pitch contains: (1) claims of how easy it is to master the plan; (2) testimonials from ordinary folk, and sometimes quotations from newspapers and magazines; (3) criticisms of competing plans (some even…

Examines Chaim Perelman's new rhetoric, concluding that Perelman believes a rhetor linguistically creates a presence by first analyzing how the audience thinks and acts, referring to what the audience holds to be true, and then entering into communion with the audience by expressing the thoughts of the audience. (RAE)

Argues that presumption represents a multidimensional concept, not a monolithic one. Claims that in reaching a decision on a nonpolicy debate, the decision rule "one who asserts must prove" ought to be given primacy over the predispositions of a given audience or of society at large. (JD)

Analyzes Audre Lorde's speech which interweaves commentary on the silence surrounding breast cancer with insights about silence drawn from her experiences as a member of several subordinated communities. Finds she comments on silencing and power, sexism, verbal abuse, violence and sexualized aggression, shame, and hostile social environments--her…

The spaces in which public deliberation most often takes place are institutionally, technologically, and scientifically complex. In this article, we argue that in order to participate, citizens must be able to invent valued knowledge. This invention requires using complex information technologies to access, assemble, and analyze information in…