ISBN:
9781602355644
Language:
English
Pages:
1 online resource (295 pages)
Series Statement:
Lauer Series in Rhetoric and Composition
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als
DDC:
306.44/0973
Keywords:
English language -- Political aspects -- United States
;
Persuasion (Rhetoric) -- Political aspects -- United States
;
Mass media -- United States -- Language
;
Freedom of speech -- Social aspects
Abstract:
Political fights are not waged over who is speaking the truth but over whether any given claim seems to be authentic. Expel the Pretender: Rhetoric Renounced and the Politics of Style examines how rhetorical style influences judgments about how to communicate integrity and good will. Eve Wiederhold argues that attitudes about style's significance to judgment are both undertheorized and over-determined, especially when style is regarded as an embellishment rather than as a constitutive aspect of language use. Examining news reports covering controversial speakers including President Bill Clinton, Linda Tripp, and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, she demonstrates how rhetorical style is both belittled and yet remains a focal point for assessing public figures who have been publicly rebuked and discredited. Expel the Pretender claims style as a conflicted site of materiality, critiquing contemporary rhetorical theories that configure style as a dependable resource for democratic inquiry. Wiederhold argues that conceptions of style's significance to judgment must be reframed to understand how we make decisions about who and what to believe.
Abstract:
Front cover -- Series page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 Authenticating the Liar -- 2 The Force of the Fit -- 3 The Politics of Ethos -- 4 Inhabiting the Call to Change -- 5 Conclusion: Passionate Linkages -- Notes -- Works Cited -- Index -- About the Author -- Back cover.
Note:
Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources
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