Rhetoric Society Quarterly Mar 2015

“Taste Analytically”: Julia Child’s Rhetoric of Cultivation

Erin L. Branch Schlumberger (Ireland)

Abstract

Rhetoricians have paid increasing attention to the influence of materiality and context on rhetorical action. However, such attention has yet to infiltrate discussions of constitutive rhetoric. This essay examines Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking as a case study for developing audience cultivation as a metaphor for analyzing audience development. This metaphor allows scholars to better account for the historical and material contexts that shape rhetorical efforts. Through analyses of Child’s and other contemporary cookbooks, as well as rigorous attention to the political, economic, social, and cultural forces at play in midcentury American life, I argue that Child’s success is not solely the product of her rhetorical prowess or charisma, but also the product of a constellation of extra-discursive elements that both enabled and constrained her rhetorical efforts.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2015-03-15
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2015.1007518
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism qualitative research
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Thielen (2022)
    Ethos, Hospitality, and the Pursuit of Rhetorical Healing: How Three Decolonial…
    Rhetoric Review
  2. Dubisar (2018)
    Toward a Feminist Food Rhetoric
    Rhetoric Review
  3. Dougherty (2015)
    Lost in TransNation: The Limits to Constitutive Nationalism in the Fenian Movement
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly

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