Abstract

Preface Part I. THEORY 1. Rhetoric and Popular Culture The Rhetoric of Everyday Life The Building Blocks of Culture: Signs 2. Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Tradition The Rhetorical Tradition: Ancient Greece 3. Rhetorical Methods in Critical Studies Texts Influence through Meanings 4. Varieties of Rhetorical Criticism, part one An Introduction to Critical Perspectives Culture-centered Criticism Marxist Criticism Visual Rhetorical Criticism Psychoanalytic Criticism 5. Varieties of Rhetorical Criticism, part two Feminist Criticism Dramatistic/Narrative Criticism Media-centered Criticism Summary and Review Looking Ahead Part II. APPLICATION 6. Paradoxes of Personalization: Race Relations in Milwaukee The Problem of Personalization The Scene and Focal Events 7. On Gangsta, Written with the Help of the Reader False Claim #1: African American Culture Is Violent False Claim #2: African American Culture Is Sexual False Claim #3: African American Culture Is Crassly Materialistic Conclusion 8. Simulational Selves, Simulational Culture in Groundhog Day 9. Media and Representation in Rec.Motorcycles 10. Two Homological Critiques One: Opening my iPod nano: A homological study of media and discourse Two: Queering the Gecko: Race, Sexual Orientation, and Marginality in GEICO's Cavemen Suggested Readings Index