One course in persuasion reviews six theories of attitude change--five based on Otto Lerbinger's designs for persuasive communication (cognitive design, stimulus response design, motivational design, personality design, and social design), and a sixth (perceptual design) developed by the instructors. Instruction in each includes a variety of…

The two Alger Hiss perjury trials of 1949 provide an opportunity to compare two different aspects of trial drama: courtroom drama and crime drama. Much recent scholarship on legal rhetoric has acknowledged the dramatic quality of courtroom communication, which results in part from the physical appearance of the courtroom and the style of language…

This paper argues that the concept of presumption and burden of proof as developed in twentieth century argumentation texts is distinct from the theory developed and perfected by Whately in his "Elements of Rhetoric." The first section of this paper reviews the concepts of presumption and burden of proof as described by Whately,…

A rhetorical work functions to produce action in the world and is controlled by the rhetorical situation which generates it. This rhetorical situation is comprised of any combination of persons, events, objects, and relations which requires rhetorical response. The three major constituents of any rhetorical situation are exigence, a condition…

Intercollegiate debaters often have difficulty coming up with relevant topics for debate. Even when they do find current topics, by the end of an eight-month preparation period both the coaches and the debaters are bored. One possible alternative to this extension of the debate season might be found in current issues debate. Additional emphasis on…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a confident potential partisan group will tend to rely on persuasion as a means of influence, if an alienated potential partisan group will tend to rely on constraint as a means of influence, and if a neutral potential partisan group will tend to rely on inducement as a means of influence. Student…

This book is an attempt to understand the extension of rhetoric in many directions, not only as a subject matter but also as an analyzing, organizing, and liberating agent. Chapter One is intended as a general introduction to rhetoric, with some account by means of illustrations of its possibilities within what is an expected range. Chapter Two is…

To determine the status of recent experimental, empirical, and rhetorical studies in teaching persuasion, a questionnaire was sent to 300 speech teachers in colleges and universities. Results were based on data obtained from 60 percent of the respondents. It was found that persuasion is taught in most colleges and universities, a wide range of…

Intercollegiate debate competition depends on close and fair definition of terms for effective debates. Overly narrow or slanted definitions by affirmative debate cases so limit the ensuing argument that debate, as it is now conceived, cannot go on. Improper stipulation shifts fields of argument onto the affirmative case's grounds, rendering the…

This dissertation outlines and demonstrates a method of analyzing full-length argumentative essays from a semantic point of view. As a method, semantic analysis is based on a theory which defines composition as a multi-leveled and multi-dimensional problem-solving process. According to the theory, the writer must be capable of making intelligent…

The argumentative perspective enables rhetoric to function in a manner analagous to science or analytic philosophy, yielding reliable knowledge about nonempirical topics, which other methods cannot address. In short, argumentation is the equivalent of hypothesis-testing. Forensics should offer laboratory experience in developing this perspective…

Contends that rhetorical theory of the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries influenced the theory of the composition of music and offers examples of vocal music which was adapted to the rhetorical appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. (MH)

Responds to Charles Willard's recommendations (in an article in "Communication Monographs," November 1976) that argument be viewed as an attempt to establish formal relationships among symbolic structures. Demonstrates flaws in this redefinition and shows argument diagrams to be theoretically and practically justifiable. (JMF)

Examines President Johnson's speeches of August fourth and fifth in 1964. The effects of the speeches are analyzed to show support for the propositions that Johnson's rhetoric created an international crisis and that it limited the foreign policy alternatives of the United States in Vietnam. (JMF)

Assuming that McLeish's (CJE, v.1, n.4, 1976) preference for the Skinnerian variant of behaviorism is a correct scientific approach the author criticizes an implicit assumption of his research, i.e., whether or not behaviorism is under siege. (Author/RK)