The Routledge Handbook of Rhetoric and Power (Routledge Handbooks in Communication Studies)

This handbook represents the first comprehensive disciplinary investigation into the relationship between rhetoric and power as it is expressed in different aspects of society.

Providing conceptual and empirical foundations for the study of the relationship between different forms of rhetorical expression and diverse structures, practices, habits, and networks of power, The Routledge Handbook of Rhetoric and Power is divided into six parts:

• Theoretical Foundations
• Propaganda, Politics, and the State
• Resistance and Social Movements
• Culture, Society, and Identity
• Discourses of Technique and Organization
• Prospects for the Future

The guiding principle of this handbook is that power represents a capacity for coordinated action grounded in specific historical, technological, political, and economic conditions. It suggests that rhetoric is an art that adapts to these conditions and finds ways to transform, create, or undermine these capacities in other people through self-conscious persuasion. Featuring contributions from key scholars, this accessibly written handbook will be an indispensable resource for researchers and students in the fields of rhetoric, writing studies, communication studies, political communication, and social justice.

Nathan Crick is Professor in the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University, USA. His recent books include Rhetorical Public Speaking, 4th edition (Routledge, 2022) and The Rhetoric of Social Movements (Routledge, 2020).