Synopses & Reviews
As we go through life experiencing and enjoying music, clothing, architecture, food, and so forth, we are also participating in rhetorical struggles over what kind of society we will live in and what sort of people we will be. This book will empower you to see those struggles as well, so that you will be able to find the rhetoric in rap music, the motivations in heavy metal, and the arguments in argyle socks.
--From the author's Introduction
This book joins together two vital scholarly traditions: rhetorical criticism and critical studies. With updated examples from popular culture throughout the text; updated material on Marxist, psychoanalytic, feminist, media-centered, and culture-centered criticism; as well as a new discussion on super-signs, neo-Aristotelian methods, and intertextuality, the text enables students to apply the growing and cutting-edge methodologies of critical studies to the study of rhetoric, and to link those new approaches to the rhetorical tradition.
In Part I, students are introduced to rhetoric as a concept, to the history of rhetoric, and to a method for doing rhetorical criticism. The chapters in Part I are theoretical and methodological, introducing the central concepts of rhetoric and culture, explaining the conceptual and political bases of traditional rhetorical theory, discussing the critical process in general, and comparing five specific groups of critical methods: Marxist, feminist/psychoanalytic, dramatistic/narrative, media-centered, and culture-centered. In Part II, sample critical essays/case studies show how the critical methods discussed in Part I can be used to study the rhetoric of extended texts at length. The chapters in Part II are critical analyses, designed to show how critical methods can be used to study the rhetoric of extended texts at length.
Key Features:
- Shows the development from the rhetorical tradition (and its emphasis on the study of speeches) to contemporary popular culture analysis
- Explores the study of popular culture discourse as it relates the history of the discipline
- Provides useful (and fun) questions and mini-assignments throughout the text to help students understand the practical applications and relevance of rhetorical concepts in everyday life
- Draws on recent work in semiotics and cultural studies to apply critical methods to texts from popular culture (e.g., print ads, music videos, TV advertisements, movies & TV shows)
- New companion Web site contains audio and visual material (such as print advertisements, music video clips, TV advertisements, and clips from TV shows and movies) and accompanies discussions within the text
Synopsis
As we go through life experiencing and enjoying music, clothing, architecture, food, and so forth, we are also participating in rhetorical struggles over what kind of society we will live in and what sort of people we will be. This book will empower you to see those struggles as well, so that you will be able to find the rhetoric in rage metal, the motivations on MTV, and the arguments in RV's. -From the Introduction Rhetoric in Popular Culture, Second Edition is the only textbook that uniquely joins together two vital scholarly traditions: rhetorical criticism and critical studies. Author Barry Brummett introduces the reader to techniques of rhetorical criticism specifically designed for the analysis of texts in popular culture. The Second Edition of this popular text has been updated and expanded with even more examples from today's popular culture. New to the Second Edition: Applies cutting-edge methodologies: With updated examples from popular culture throughout the text, this book enables students to apply the growing and cutting-edge methodologies of critical studies to the study of rhetoric and to link those new approaches to the rhetorical tradition. The Second Edition includes updated material on Marxist, psychoanalytic, feminist, media-centered, and culture-centered criticism; as well as a new discussion on super-signs, neo-Aristotelian methods, and intertextuality. Includes new critical essays: New critical essays examine the rhetorical influence of hip hop music, on the film Groundhog Day, and on Internet user groups. Recent work in semiotics and cultural studies is drawn upon to apply critical methods to texts from popular culture (such as print ads, music videos, TVadvertisements, and movies and television shows). Links rhetorical concepts with everyday life: Useful (and fun) questions and mini-assignments are provided throughout the text to help students understand the practical applications and relevance of rhetorical concepts in everyday life. Students are encouraged to apply their own examples to match the concepts being learned. New Web site: The new companion study site includes: Chapter Flashcards that allow students to go over key terms and concepts on their own; Self Quizzes and Study Questions to test their knowledge and application of the material; Chapter Exercises that ask students to apply their knowledge to an example of popular culture; Internet Resources; and Journal Articles chosen from SAGE's online journal platform that allow students to delve deeper into the research around popular culture. Find it on the Supplements page.
Synopsis
Rhetoric in Popular Culture, Second Edition is the only textbook that uniquely joins together two vital scholarly traditions: rhetorical criticism and critical studies. Author Barry Brummett introduces the reader to techniques of rhetorical criticism specifically designed for the analysis of texts in popular culture. The Second Edition of this popular text has been updated and expanded with even more examples from today's popular culture.