Rhetoric Society Quarterly Oct 2011

Polemical Ambiguity and the Composite Audience: Bush's 20 September 2001 Speech to Congress and the Epistle of 1 John

Mike Duncan University of Houston - Downtown

Abstract

George W. Bush's September 20, 2001 address to Congress and the first-century CE early Christian text of 1 John both exhibit a form of rhetorical ambiguity, called here “polemical ambiguity,” that does not fit within Eisenberg's concept of strategic ambiguity, but rather serves as its argumentative doppelgänger. Polemical ambiguity allows a rhetor to leave real and potential allies in a composite audience in doubt as to the exact parameters of the rhetor's message, while an alienated section of the composite audience perceives a stark and wholly unambiguous message. The following analysis explores how Bush's speech and 1 John, faced with composite audiences, pursue similar goals through the use of polemical ambiguity, as well as how this particular maneuver is closely linked to religious rhetoric.

Journal
Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published
2011-10-01
DOI
10.1080/02773945.2011.596178
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
rhetorical criticism
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Bruhn (2022)
    Orchestrating Difference: The Address of Composite Audiences as Pluralist Rhetoric
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  2. Gallagher (2017)
    Writing for Algorithmic Audiences
    Computers and Composition
  3. Gallagher (2015)
    Five Strategies Internet Writers Use to “Continue the Conversation”
    Written Communication

References (32) · 1 in this index

  1. Aragones Enriqueta (2000)
    10.1177/0951692800012002003
    Journal of Theoretical Politics  ↗
  2. Bauckham Richard. (1998)
    The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences
  3. Brown , Raymond.The Epistles of John. New York : Doubleday , 1982 . Print .
     ↗
  4. Bultmann , Rudolf.The Johannine Epistles. Trans. R. Philip O'Hara with Lance C. McGaughy and Robert W. Funk. …
  5. Burke Kenneth. (1969)
    A Grammar of Motives
     ↗
Show all 32 →
  1. Ceccarelli Leah. (1998)
    10.1080/00335639809384229
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  2. Condit Celeste. (1989)
    10.1080/15295038909366739
    Critical Studies in Mass Communication  ↗
  3. Davenport Shirley (2005)
    10.1177/0170840605054627
    Organization Studies  ↗
  4. Edwards M. J. (1989)
    Novum Testamentum
  5. Eisenberg Eric M. (1984)
    10.1080/03637758409390197
    Communication Monographs  ↗
  6. Griffith Terry. (2002)
    Keep Yourself from Idols: A New Look at 1 John
  7. Jamieson Kathleen H. (2007)
    10.1353/rap.2007.0038
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  8. Jarzabkowski Paula (2009)
    Human Relations
  9. Leitch Shirley (2007)
    10.1177/1461445607072106
    Discourse Studies  ↗
  10. Markham Annette. (1996)
    10.1177/0893318996009004002
    Management Communication Quarterly  ↗
  11. Max D. T.
    The New York Times Magazine
  12. Meriowitz Adam. (2005)
    10.1177/0951629805047800
    Journal of Theoretical Politics  ↗
  13. Merskin Debra. (2004)
    10.1207/s15327825mcs0702_2
    Mass Communication & Society  ↗
  14. Myers Frank. (2000)
    10.1353/rap.2000.0012
    Rhetoric & Public Affairs  ↗
  15. (1999)
    10.1080/00335639909384241
    Quarterly Journal of Speech  ↗
  16. Painter John. (1986)
    10.1017/S0028688500013503
    New Testament Studies  ↗
  17. Paul Jim (1997)
    10.1177/002194369703400202
    Journal of Business Communication  ↗
  18. Pearce Kimber Charles. (2000)
    10.5840/jcr20002321
    The Journal of Communication and Religion  ↗
  19. Peerbolte L. J. Lietaert (1996)
    The Antecedents of Antichrist: A Traditio-Historical Study of the Earliest Christian View…
     ↗
  20. Perelman Chaïm (1969)
    The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation
  21. Schmid Hansjörg. (2004)
    Biblica
  22. Stark Rodney. (1996)
    The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History
     ↗
  23. Thomas John C. (1998)
    10.1163/156853698323282117
    Novum Testamentum  ↗
  24. Tindale (2007)
    Constrained Maneuvering: Rhetoric as a Rational Enterprise
    Argumentation
  25. Ulmer Robert (1997)
    10.1080/10510979709368502
    Communication Studies  ↗
  26. Watson Duane. (1993)
    10.1177/0142064X9301605105
    Journal for the Study of the New Testament  ↗
  27. Wendland Ernst R. (1998)
    Journal of Translation and Text-Linguistics
CrossRef global citation count: 9 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Navigating platform algorithms: Global south feminist activists’ rhetorical and composition practices in digital advocacy on social media ↗
    Kalpana Shrestha
    rhetorical criticism social media gender and writing
  2. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    Legacies, commitments, and new challenges: The Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative interviews three generations of Computers and Composition editors ↗
    Ali Alalem; Alyse Campbell; Thais Rodrigues Cons; Funmilola Fadairo; Nicole Koyuki Golden
    rhetorical criticism collaborative writing digital rhetoric
  3. Computers and Composition Jun 2026
    How Baldwin's voice moved Cambridge: Activation contours, mimesis, and a computational approach to rhetoric's sensorium ↗
    David M. Rieder; Michael R. Jackson
    rhetorical criticism
  4. Written Communication May 2026
    Genres Fall Apart: Recuperating the Centrifugal in Rhetorical Genre Analysis ↗
    Rebecca Lorimer Leonard; Angela Rounsaville
    rhetorical criticism genre theory multilingual writers literacy studies community literacy
  5. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly May 2026
    Andrew Carnegie and the Rhetorical History of Business and Professional Communication ↗
    Joe Edward Hatfield
    rhetorical criticism teacher development professional writing archival research