Clockwork Rhetoric : The Language and Style of Steampunk

Barry Brummett

ISBN 10: 1628460911 / ISBN 13: 9781628460919

Published by University Press Of Mississippi, 2014

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - This unique book explores how the aesthetic/cultural movement 'Steampunk' persuades audiences through rhetoric. Steampunk is an aesthetic style grounded in the Victorian era, or the age of steam. It borrows the clothing and other symbolic trappings of that era, but what is most reliably distinctive is its use of a machine aesthetic based on steam engines and early electrical machinery: gears, pistons, shafts, wheels, induction motors, and so forth. The aesthetic was first articulated in literature during that period in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. The American West has contributed images to the aesthetic, many of them grounded in the revolvers, locomotives, and rifles of the second half of the nineteenth century. It has found common aesthetic cause with Goth style among young people. Examples from literature and popular culture include William Gibson's fiction, China Miéville's novels, the classic film Metropolis, and the BBC series Doctor Who. Steampunk, is a unique popular culture phenomenon; it is also a unique opportunity for rhetorical criticism. Steampunk's art, style, and narratives convey complex social and political meanings. These chapters explore topics ranging widely from jewelry to Japanese anime to contemporary imperialism to fashion. Mainly, the book addresses how consumers of steampunk are influenced to have certain social, political attitudes and commitments.

Seller Inventory # 9781628460919

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Clockwork Rhetoric : The Language and Style of Steampunk
• Publisher: University Press Of Mississippi
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1628460911
• ISBN 13: 9781628460919
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 157H x 19D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 157 millimeters height by 19 millimeters depth
• Weight: 552 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This unique book explores how the aesthetic and cultural movement “Steampunk” persuades audiences and wins new acolytes. Steampunk is an aesthetic style grounded in the Victorian era, in clothing and accoutrements modeled on a heightened and hyper-extended age of steam. In addition to its modeling of attire and other symbolic trappings, what is most distinctive is its adherents' use of a machined aesthetic based on steam engines and early electrical machinery―gears, pistons, shafts, wheels, induction motors, clockwork and so forth.

Precursors to steampunk can be found in the works of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. The imagery of the American West contributed to the aesthetic―revolvers, locomotives, and rifles of the late nineteenth century. Among young people, steampunk has found common aesthetic cause with Goth style. Examples from literature and popular culture include William Gibson's fiction, China Miéville's novels, the classic film Metropolis, and the BBC series Doctor Who. This volume recognizes that steampunk, a unique popular culture phenomenon, presents a prime opportunity for rhetorical criticism.

Steampunk's art, style, and narratives convey complex social and political meanings. Chapters in Clockwork Rhetoric explore topics ranging from jewelry to Japanese anime to contemporary imperialism to fashion. Throughout, the book demonstrates how language influences consumers of steampunk to hold certain social and political attitudes and commitments.

About the Author

Barry Brummett is Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is author of A Rhetoric of Style and Rhetorical Homologies: Form, Culture, Experience.