Rhetorical hedonism and gray genres

Communication Design Quarterly Jul 2021

Jimmy Butts ; Josephine Walwema

Abstract

As technical genres continue to grow and morph in promising new directions, we attempt an analysis of what are typically viewed as mundane genres. We use the term gray genres, which we find useful for interrogating texts that tend to fall in categories that tend toward a blandness that is invariably difficult to quantify. We use hedonism, along with a historical accounting for this value from its classical rhetorical lineage and run it up to contemporary applications. We posit that playful stylistic choices---while typically discouraged in more technical spaces---actually improves the rhetorical canon of delivery for informative documents. We close with case studies that offer close readings of a few attempts at employing hedonistic tactics within typical gray genres.

Journal: Communication Design Quarterly
Published: 2021-07-01
DOI: 10.1145/3453460.3453461
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Topics: rhetorical theory

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