Rhetoric Review Mar 2008

“The Day Belongs to the Students”: Expanding Epideictic's Civic Function

Lois Agnew Syracuse University

Abstract

The audience's violent response to the 2003 Rockford College commencement address illuminates challenges that surround the epideictic genre in a politically divided society. This essay explores the nature of the conflict that arose that day in order to consider ways in which the generic form of epideictic potentially facilitates communication among people with different views. This opportunity can be realized as rhetors and audiences acknowledge generic constraints, acknowledge social concerns, search for shared understanding, and commit themselves to an epideictic encounter that serves the educational function of constructively interrogating and reimagining public values.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2008-03-25
DOI
10.1080/07350190801921768
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
classical rhetoric genre theory editorial matter
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Sharp (2019)
    Agency, Authority, and Epideictic Rhetoric: A Case Study of Bottom-Up Organizat…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Tomlinson et al. (2018)
    Epideictic Rhetoric Born Digital: Evolution of the Letter of Recommendation Genre
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Lynch (2017)
    On Care for Our Common Discourse: Pope Francis’s Nonmodern Epideictic
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Cheng et al. (2016)
    The 1909Plan of Chicagoas Representative Anecdote: Constituting New Citizens fo…
    Rhetoric Review
  5. Pan (2015)
    The Newspaper as an Epideictic Meeting Point
    Argumentation
Show all 6 →
  1. Morris (2010)
    Native American Stand-Up Comedy: Epideictic Strategies in the Contact Zone
    Rhetoric Review

References (20) · 2 in this index

  1. Aristotle (1991)
    On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse
  2. Mikhail Bakhtin (1986)
    Speech Genres and Other Late Essays
  3. Beale Walter H (1978)
    Philosophy and Rhetoric
  4. Benoit (1980)
    In depense op generic rhetorical criticism: John H. Patton's ‘generic criticism…
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  5. Bhatia Vijay K (2001)
    Analysing English in a Global Context
Show all 20 →
  1. Bitzer Lloyd F (1978)
    Rhetoric, Philosophy, and Literature: An Exploration
  2. Burke Kenneth (1955)
    A Rhetoric of Motives
  3. Clark Irene L (2002)
    Visions and Re-Vision: Continuity and Change in Rhetoric and Composition
  4. Condit Celeste Michelle (1984)
    10.1080/01463378509369608
    Communication Quarterly  ↗
  5. Devitt Amy J (2004)
    Writing Genres
  6. Farrell Thomas (1993)
    Norms of Rhetorical Culture
     ↗
  7. Hauser (1999)
    Aristotle on epideictic: The formation of public morality
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  8. Hedges Chris (2002)
    War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
  9. Herrington Anne (2005)
    Genre Across the Curriculum
  10. Jamieson Kathleen M. Hall (1973)
    Philosophy and Rhetoric
  11. 10.1080/00335638409383686
     ↗
  12. Oravec Christine (1976)
    Philosophy and Rhetoric
  13. Perelman Chaïm (1969)
    The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation
  14. 10.2307/378414
     ↗
  15. Sullivan Dale (1993)
    Philosophy and Rhetoric
CrossRef global citation count: 13 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Philosophy & Rhetoric Oct 2025
    The Intellectual and Cultural Origins of Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca’s New Rhetoric Project: Commentaries on and Translations of Seven Foundational Articles, 1933–1958 ↗
    Christopher W. Tindale
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis revision argument collaborative writing editorial matter
  2. Rhetorica Sep 2024
    A Short Foreword ↗
    Lorenzo Miletti; Caroline Petit
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory editorial matter
  3. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Mar 2022
    Ethics and the Orator: The Ciceronian Tradition of Political Morality ↗
    Robert W. Cape
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory gender and writing public rhetoric editorial matter
  4. Philosophy & Rhetoric Oct 2021
    Editorial Bodies: Perfection and Rejection in Ancient Rhetoric and Poetics ↗
    Susan C. Jarratt
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics collaborative writing labor and working conditions gender and writing public rhetoric editorial matter
  5. Advances in the History of Rhetoric May 2019
    Diversity in and among Rhetorical Traditions ↗
    Scott R. Stroud
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy argument archival research race and writing editorial matter