Browsing by Subject "Rhetoric"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Don’t underestimate the power of the putdown in a presidential debate
    (The Conversation US, Inc., 2020-09-29) Lamb, Chris; Journalism and Public Relations, School of Liberal Arts
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    Engelbert of Admont's De Regimine Principum and Lex Animata: a study in the eclecticism of the Medieval Aristotelian political tradition
    (2018-05) Crouse, Landon B.; Saak, Eric L.; Cramer, Kevin‏; Thill, Elizabeth W.
    This is the study of Engelbert of Admont's unique and practical take on Aristotelian political theory post-rediscovery of Aristotle's ethico-political works. Through the methods of reception theory and a comparative analysis of his first major political treatise, De regimine principum, with those of his contemporaries similar political treatises (i.e., St. Thomas Aquinas, Giles of Rome, and Marsilius of Padua) and their use of Aristotelian sources and concepts--e.g. lex animata--I have shown not only Engelbert's more original, unique, and practical approach to political philosophy within the Aristotelian political tradition of the later Middle Ages, but also a more comprehensively eclectic nature of this tradition. Engelbert's political philosophy as espoused in his De regimine principum is thus a watershed in the development of the use of practical political science.
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    Exploring the Dynamics of Cross-Cultural Collaboration in Writing Classrooms
    ([BREAK]Publisher of the original article: TWI Publications. Copyright © 1990, TWI Publications. From the publisher's web site: "We are committed to the open access publishing model."[BREAK], 1990) Allaei, Sara Kurtz; Connor, Ulla, 1948-
    As teachers of writing have adopted the idea that writing should be taught as a process ,from the generation of ideas to the fine-tuning of the final editing, much interest has been focused on the use of peer collaboration at various stages of the writing process, particularly in guiding students in responding to the writing of peers. Bruffee ("'Conversation'"), an early advocate of the use of peer collaboration, argues that "collaborative learning provides the kind of social context .... in which normal discourse occurs: a community of knowledgeable peers". In this context, "students can practice and master the normal discourse exercised in established communities in the academic world and in business , government and the professions" (644). Of course, students are not yet members of these established knowledge communities, but Gere argues that they can negotiate their way toward acceptable discourse: many of the comments they make as they respond to each other's writing begin with the phrase, "I don't know..." or "I don't think...". Student writers comment on and question their own work: they ask, "Does this example make sense here?", or "I'm trying to show why Joe is so alienated from his family. Does this idea come trough clearly?" (70)
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    Informing practice and sabotaging membership growth: an ideological rhetorical analysis of discursive materials from Kiwanis International
    (2015-08) Stokes, Tonja LaFaye; Dobris, Catherine A.; Parrish-Sprowl, John; Goering, Elizabeth M.
    This study utilizes an ideological rhetorical analysis, applying Marxist and Feminist lenses, to artifacts from Kiwanis International, a prominent global service organization. These artifacts are: "The Permanent Objects of Kiwanis," guiding principles that were codified in 1924; "The Man Who Was God": a brief story about transforming from Kiwanis member to "Kiwanian," published in 1935 and 1985, respectively; and the 2012 "Join the Club" Membership Brochure. The rhetoric of discursive materials is one of the most salient representations of group ideology. In turn, ideology, particularly when it reflects and perpetuates social hegemony, has a normalizing effect on itself. Ideology shapes identity; identity shapes strategies to set process norms that create social cohesion. Norms of social cohesion become culture; culture reinforces ideology. When these components mirror social hegemony and replicate hegemonic power, they create institutions, like service organizations; these institutions then legitimate and normalize positions of social privilege. Ultimately, ideology and social hegemony reveal themselves through organizational and member practices and organizationally-produced discursive material. The purpose of this study is to analyze the historical, socio-political, and socio-cultural roots of Kiwanis International in order to draw logical conclusions about the organization's ideology for the purposes of understanding how that ideology contributes to, justifies, and perpetuates an unconscious, neo-colonial view of philanthropy. Kiwanis International, on an organizational (macro) level and at the club/member (micro) level, is structured around positions of racial, ethnic, socio-economic, linguistic, gender, and religious privilege, and so mimics the hegemonic power centers and dominant ideologies of society at large. In turn, the products and practices of the organization reflect these positions of privilege and inhibits the organization's ability to attract traditionally excluded, disenfranchised, or under-represented groups. Understanding that it is a contentious and futile to simply point where power relations exist and assert themselves, this study emphasizes where "othering" occurs in hopes of mitigating relations of domination and oppression between Kiwanis members and perspective members, and of moving forward the interests of those who have not traditionally been counted among Kiwanis' members but whose presence could save the organization.
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    A Pence-ive narration of a gendered vice-presidency
    (2017-07) Deckard, Trent; Sheeler, Kristina
    This thesis analyzes the gender narrative surrounding the vice-presidency and the 2016 election. It reviews the traditional feminine gender roles assigned to the vice-presidency and as evidenced in Governor Mike Pence’s participation in a 60 Minutes interview, nomination speech at the 2016 national convention, and vice-presidential debate. Furthers the work of Bostdorff, who argued that the vice presidency has a traditional feminine role where vice-presidential figures and potential aspirants use strategies of celebration, confrontation, vindication, and submission to fulfill a gendered role in service to a highly masculine presidency. Suggests that the realities of the 2016 election allowed for these strategies, although in a different form given the nature of the campaign and a Trump candidacy.
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    “Since When Do We Celebrate Not Having Talent?”: Common Tropes and Counterstory in Tradwife TikTok
    (2024-09) Cooper, Savannah; Brooks Gillies, Marilee; Buchenot, Andy; Musgrave, Megan
    My thesis examines common “tropes” that appear in Tradwife content on TikTok. Tradwife content reaffirms and platforms harmful cultural norms and stereotypes regarding gender roles and is often connected to other forms of online extremism. In this thesis, I examine three common tropes I’ve identified in Tradwife content—religion, othering, and aesthetic comfort content. Tradwife content creators state religion to be a main driver behind their lifestyle and often produce content that presents an othering, “us-vs.-them” dynamic between themselves and their detractors. The toxic nature of their message is made more palpable via what I refer to as “aesthetic comfort content,” where their visually pleasing multimodal content presents their lifestyle as idyllic. I also expound on how some commenters are using elements of counterstory and disidentification in the Tradwife creators’ comment sections to fight back against these same stereotypes. The comment section becomes a site of debate and discourse where commenters can engage in acts of micro-activism by using their own experiences to complicate and critique the Tradwives’ messaging.
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    "Tho' We are Deprived of the Privilege of Suffrage": The Henry County Female Anti-Slavery Society Records, 1841-1849
    (2009) Clauser-Roemer, Kendra; McKivigan, John R.; Bingmann, Melissa; Wokeck, Marianne S.
    Without a public arena, the women’s abolitionist movement employed traditional women’s activities in conjunction with writing for publication as their rhetorical force. Female antislavery societies incorporated a range of tactics including sewing clothing for escaped slaves, organizing fund-raising bazaars, and petitioning politicians. As with societies of men, women elected recording secretaries, submitted reports and addresses for newspaper publication, and some groups even developed tracts for public distribution. Denied the right to speak publicly, female antislavery societies used organizational documentation not only as a device to record their activities but also as a persuasive tool to shape public opinion. Many of the female antislavery societies communicated through the antislavery press. Local, regional, and national papers published constitutions, resolutions, reports, and addresses of women’s organizations. The Henry County Female Anti-Slavery Society (HCFASS) maintained vigorous publication activities. During their eight-year existence, from 1841 to 1849, the Free Labor Advocate, a regional antislavery newspaper, published HCFASS resolutions and addresses almost every year. In addition to Indiana periodicals, HCFASS leaders sent publication requests to national newspapers. Although scholars have profiled several New England societies, the characteristics of individual societies in the Midwest remain slim. Since the HCFASS achieved the most prolific publication record of any female society in Indiana it provides a strong case study for female antislavery rhetoric in the Midwest.
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    Wayward Stories: A Rhetoric of Community in Writing Center Administration
    (2019-07) Hull, Kelin; Brooks-Gillies, Marilee; Buchenot, Andre; Layden, Sarah
    Six weeks in to my position as assistant director of the writing center and suddenly I was confronted by a cluster bombing of issues and concerns – microaggressions, depression, confusion, suspicion – each one separate but related, and threatening to tear a new hole in the already fragile foundation of community in my writing center. How do we feel, what do we do, how does a community survive when the story we’re experiencing isn’t the story we want or expected - when it is, in a word, terrible? After McKinney’s Peripheral Visions, we know our labor and our centers do not look, act, and feel cozy, iconoclastic, or focused on one-on-one tutoring all of the time. And yet, if we are going to continue to move beyond the grand narrative, a deep and meaningful understanding of community is essential. When we put our story in relation to our communities, then our story becomes just one thread in a much more complex tapestry. We cannot separate one person’s story from the story of the writing center. Each person, each story, is a stitch in the rhetorical fabric of community. Using critically reflexive stories to change and shape practice, this thesis highlights the grand narrative of community and shows how that narrative serves to stymie community growth. These stories resist boundaries. They are wayward. They are counter to the narratives around which we construct our lives. When we share stories and write together, we begin to understand the threads we’re all weaving into the tapestry – our community, stitched together through shared practice; a process that will never end, as each person comes and goes. The community will never be resolved, and in the ambiguity of boundlessness, comes a new way of seeing the world - through constellations and the dwelling in inbetween.