Explores the rhetorical nature of political cartoons by applying Kenneth Burke's concepts and terminology to this graphic art form. Examines (1) formal strategy of "perspective by incongruity," (2) burlesque attitude in political cartoons, and (3) fusion of form and attitude in the tropal principles of this graphic art. Draws from…

Analyzes speeches in which Reagan challenges the following convention: science will continue to create technologically advanced weapons against which no effective defense will be developed, making deterrence through an assured retaliatory capability the only possible defense. Textual analysis reveals how public discourse can achieve unities of…

Views Reagan's "Star Wars" address as part of the culturally evolving myth of the New Frontier. Discusses how the speech creates the illusion of both preserving and transcending science by (1) subordinating technical reasoning to prevent nuclear holocaust and (2) using technoscience to rescript history and remove temporal and spacial…

Argues that the unconscious mind plays a central role in argumentation. Discusses the nature of the unconscious and analyzes invention, focusing on rules theory. Claims that argument reception is controlled by the unconscious. Identifies a series of basic issues needing investigation. (JD)

Supports research indicating that disclaimers have no effect on perceptions of source credibility. Reveals that frequency of disclaimer use was unrelated to subject-juror evaluations of witness credibility and testimony believability; females did not use more disclaimers than males during examination; and when females used disclaimers, they were…

Discusses three studies that generated six replications of the subjective message construct theory indicating that between 25 percent and 50 percent of the variance in belief change can be explained by the theory. Indicates that subjective probabilities can be used to construct valid operational measures of importance and novelty. (NKA)

Opposes the view that standards for evaluation arguments do not exist or cannot be developed. Justifies argument evaluation and sketches the outlines of a general method for evaluating ordinary arguments. (PD)

Includes transcript, editorial analysis, and judges' critiques of the final debate between students from the University of Iowa and Harvard University. (PD)

Reports results of a survey of graduate courses in argumentation theory. Includes data on types of courses, theorists, historical and basic concepts in argument, everyday argument, resources (books and articles), etc. (PD)

Describes and analyzes the agreement rate of judges at the 1984 National Individual Events Tournament. Reveals a low agreement rate (65.22%) among judges; discusses ramifications for forensic education. (PD)

Discusses two points in response to the objections raised in the previous essay: (1) higher standards for argument are not justified and could create problems and (2) theoretical issues can and should be debated in individual debate rounds. (PD)

Argues that technical writing teachers must emphasize the concept of ethos in their classroom because students need to know not only how their ethos emerges in what they write, but how to convey a positive ethos that will influence readers to accept their investigations and arguments. (FL)

Presents a method for funding IRAs (instructionally related activities) including forensics, based on the California State University system. (PD)

Suggests how rhetorical criticism might be most productively focused by concentrating on the message, value premises, and strategies. (PD)

Reorganizes Aristotle's system of topics (as presented in Cicero's "Topics") to provide a useful tool for corporate speechwriting. Illustrates with a case study how a modern speechwriter/speaker might use the topics to develop a subject fully. (PD)