Critiques of Contemporary Rhetoric

This book covers criticism of the persuasion that surrounds us in daily life; speeches at political conventions, editorials in newspapers, essays in magazines of opinion, debates in Congress, state legislatures, and political campaigns, and all of the efforts by which protesters and reformers justify their views. The authors focus attention on responding intelligently to this rhetoric. They view rhetorical criticism not as a matter of being critical or of attacking rhetoric but rather, as the process of analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of persuasive uses of language.

Karlyn Kohrs Campbell (PhD, University of Minnesota) is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Minnesota. She is the author of MAN CANNOT SPEAK FOR HER: A CRITICAL STUDY OF EARLY FEMINIST RHETORIC (1989) and co-author of DEEDS DONE IN WORDS: PRESIDENTIAL RHETORIC AND THE GENRES OF GOVERNANCE (1990), PRESIDENTS CREATING THE PRESIDENCY (2008), and THE INTERPLAY OF INFLUENCE: NEWS, ADVERTISING, POLITICS, AND THE MASS MEDIA (6th ed., 2006). She is editor of CRITIQUES OF CONTEMPORARY RHETORIC (1997, 2003), WOMEN PUBLIC SPEAKERS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1800-1925 (1993), and WOMEN PUBLIC SPEAKERS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1925-present (1994). Awards include a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center of the Kennedy School at Harvard, the National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar Award, the Lauren Ecroyd outstanding teacher award, the Woolbert Award for scholarship of exceptional originality and influence, Golden Anniversary Monograph Award, and the University of Minnesota 2002 Distinguished Woman Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences. She has taught at Macalester College; The British College at Palermo, Italy; California State University at Los Angeles; SUNY at Brockport and at Binghamton; City University of New York; University of Kansas; and Dokkyo University, Tokyo, Japan.

Thomas R. Burkholder (PhD, University of Kansas) is Associate Professor and former Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He is co-author, with Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, of the second edition of CRITIQUES OF CONTEMPORARY RHETORIC (1997) and co-editor, with Martha S. Watson, of PERFECTING AMERICAN SOCIETY: THE RHETORIC OF NINETEENTH CENTURY REFORM (2007). His work has also appeared in the Western Journal of Communication, Southern Communication Journal, Communication Studies, and various book chapters. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism, and U.S. public address