Joe Karbo, author of "The Lazy Man's Way to Riches," has pioneered several of the techniques used in get-rich-quick schemes. A typical pitch contains: (1) claims of how easy it is to master the plan; (2) testimonials from ordinary folk, and sometimes quotations from newspapers and magazines; (3) criticisms of competing plans (some even…

Examines Chaim Perelman's new rhetoric, concluding that Perelman believes a rhetor linguistically creates a presence by first analyzing how the audience thinks and acts, referring to what the audience holds to be true, and then entering into communion with the audience by expressing the thoughts of the audience. (RAE)

Argues that presumption represents a multidimensional concept, not a monolithic one. Claims that in reaching a decision on a nonpolicy debate, the decision rule "one who asserts must prove" ought to be given primacy over the predispositions of a given audience or of society at large. (JD)

Analyzes Audre Lorde's speech which interweaves commentary on the silence surrounding breast cancer with insights about silence drawn from her experiences as a member of several subordinated communities. Finds she comments on silencing and power, sexism, verbal abuse, violence and sexualized aggression, shame, and hostile social environments--her…

Discusses how John C. Calhoun's speech "On Reception of the Abolition Petitions," illuminates his logical defense of slavery, while revealing that the logic was inextricably bound up in a powerful psycho-logic. Focuses on the role metaphor plays, particularly the functions of place, space, and related symbolic indices of orientation. (JD)

Examines recent attempts by a number of theorists to develop a "rhetoric of the human sciences." Argues that contemporary tendencies to elevate rhetoric at the expense of such traditional notions as scientific objectivity, ontology, and epistemological foundationalism are mistaken. (JK)

Reflects on the work of Jurgen Habermas to help develop an objective and subjective rhetoric that are not in isolation from each other. Finds communicative competence a challenging conception of rhetoric's humane purpose: namely, the formation of autonomous and responsible speakers, capable of participating fully in the discourse of a speech…

Argues that silence can be a specifically feminist rhetorical art, often one of resistance. Draws on two key rhetorical movements: the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings and the never-heard hearing of Lani Guinier. Explores the rhetorical dimensions of silence as a feminist position that can resist disciplinary pigeon-holing, embrace political…

Establishes grounds in classical tradition for the concept of generative rhetoric, an approach to argument that finds the means of social change in the generative capacity of language itself. Examines generative structures in the Greek system of invention. Suggests that capacity for invention is embedded in a process of variations on existing…

Presents an edited transcript of a panel discussion on ghostwriting. Discusses the process of ghostwriting books and speeches; the relationship between writer and "client"; the ghostwriter's influence on policy; ethics and professionalism of ghostwriting; differences between ghostwriting and speech writing; the authenticity of…

Identifies four metaphors that appear dominant in current studies in the field of technical communication: transmitter, channel, balance, and bridge. Suggests limitations upon each of the metaphors. Discusses the alternative metaphors of lock, translator, transformer, synthesizer, conductor, and orchestrator. Proposes orchestration as a fruitful…

Examines Thomas M. Sawyer's proposed legalistic model for ethical argumentation. Argues that Sawyer's model is inadequate because ethical rules are all too plentiful and because the model invites uncritical appeals to ethical rules. Illustrates how argument from analogy is better than Sawyer's approach for discovering and presenting well-defended…

Supplements existing rhetorical scholarship by returning to the notion of invention as general preparation of the communicator. Explores the need for invention in technical communication and summarizes Kenneth Burke's theories of dialectic and rhetoric. Presents strategies for invention, and offers advice for incorporating them into teaching…

The aim of the present study was to investigate into the critical thinking skills of late adolescent Turkish university students. The subjects of the study were the 39 students from the Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Uludag University. Two separate discussion groups, each including five students, were…

This essay grows out of a Short Course the author helped to teach called "Back to the Future: An Exploration of Public Communication Pedagogy, Past and Present, With Inventive Applications for the Future" presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago. The author presents an activity that focuses on mimesis…