This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 31 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the rhetoric of confrontation in Northern Ireland; (2) rhetorical arguments in public health regulations; (3) epideictic discourse in the founding of the…

Radical feminist Andrea Dworkin has been instrumental in efforts to curtail pornography by defining it as a violation of women's civil rights and allowing individual women to sue the distributors for damages. Dworkin's position derives from the tension between "what should be" and "what is." Her conception of the difference…

Intended for college-level basic writers, the program described in this report integrates selected oral communication training with writing instruction. The first section of the report presents a rationale for the program--which uses oral activities to enhance students' development in the underlying rhetorical abilities of invention, audience…

Designed for teachers, students and researchers of the psychological dimensions of attitude and behavior change, this annotated bibliography lists books, bibliographies and articles on the subject ranging from general introductions and surveys through specific research studies, and from theoretical position essays to literature reviews. The 42…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 11 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the credibility of the sources of public information during the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant crisis; (2) the anticorporation rhetoric of New York reformer Samuel Seabury; (3)…

Any theory of stylistics sets itself the task of accounting for choices made by a speaker/writer among theoretically available and more-or-less equivalent linguistic structures. This task is a stumbling-block in the way of most attempts to construct a theory of style because there is no consistent method of defining 'available structures' and…

This teaching guide on composition for grades 7-12 has been designed as a supplement to aid in encouraging the student to understand the importance of the spoken and written word. Included are sections on (1) research in grammar and usage, with annotated assessments of more than 50 current studies, (2) sentence structure, with lesson plans on…

This annotated bibliography lists and discusses 28 books on forensics, debate, argumentation, discussion, and public speaking. The books cover various topics in oral communication for secondary and college level study. (CH)

Drawing together both the history of persuasion as an historical facet of civilization and current practice, and speculation concerning its many manifestation in modern life, this book attempts to review persuasive communication--interpersonal, social, and mass-oriented--from the influences of society to the influences of the mass media. The first…

Argues that the form and function of presidential foreign policy rhetoric are grounded in a nation's acceptable images of political reality. Examines the rhetorical responses of Presidents Reagan and Mitterrand to the terrorist bombing in Beirut and to acts of military interventions by the United States and France in Grenada and Chad. (JD)

Proposes that different versions of moral decision making emerged in the narrative patterns of Ferraro and members of the Catholic church during the 1984 Presidential Campaign. Discusses these visions of morality using Kenneth Burke's terms and examines them as illustrative of differences in feminine and masculine constructions of reality. (JD)

Discusses problems of writing introductions in light of the theories of H. P. Grice, C. Altieri, K. Burke, and Aristotle, illustrated with scientific writing, rhetorical criticism, and student letters and essays. Approaches the introduction as text both about subject matter and about the intended reader, situation invoked, and writer's own…

Presents a model for a composition workshop using topics generated from the popular media. Designed to help students explore the mimetic characteristics of popular culture and to analyze the appeals, claims, and techniques used in advertising. Grouped under thematic guidelines of social roles, assignments are flexible in length but easily changed…

Reviews the academic career of Agnes G. Doody in the speech communication field. Presents anecdotal reports, objective student evaluations, and interviews with students and colleagues. Attributes Doody's achievements to her effective communication skills, enthusiasm for the field, creative teaching methods, high academic standards, courage, and…

Examines news coverage of the Soviet attack on KAL 007 (Korean Airlines Flight 007) that establishes and legitimizes Russia's viewpoint. Analyzes the twin processes of selection and structuring giving the text coherence. Notes that such cultural analysis challenges scholars to explore how the synchronization of government and media viewpoints…