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Can television shows like
Stranger Things, popular music by performers like Taylor Swift, advertisements for products like Samuel Adams beer, and films such as
The Hunger Games help us understand rhetorical theory and criticism?
The
Fourth Edition of
The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture offers students a step-by-step introduction to rhetorical theory and criticism by focusing on the powerful role popular culture plays in persuading us as to what to believe and how to behave.
In every chapter, students are
introduced to rhetorical theories, presented with current examples from popular culture that relate to the theory, and guided through demonstrations about how to describe, interpret, and evaluate popular culture texts through rhetorical analysis. Authors Deanna Sellnow and Thomas Endres provide sample student essays in every chapter to demonstrate rhetorical criticism in practice. This edition's easy-to-understand approach and range of popular culture examples help students apply rhetorical theory and criticism to their own lives and assigned work.
List of contents
Chapter 1. What Is Popular Culture and Why Study It?
What Is Popular Culture?
What Are Popular Culture Texts?
Why Study Popular Culture?
Conducting Rhetorical Analyses of Popular Culture Texts
Chapter 2. Expanding the Rhetorical Tradition
The Nature of Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism
Evolution of the Rhetorical Tradition in Western Societies
Conducting a Neo-Aristotelian Analysis
New (Contemporary and Postmodern) Rhetorical Approaches
Chapter 3. A Narrative Perspective
Narrative Paradigm
Elements of Storytelling
Narratives in New Media
Conducting a Narrative Analysis
Chapter 4. A Dramatistic Perspective
The Dramatistic Life Cycle
Cluster Analysis
The Pentad
Conducting a Dramatistic Analysis
Chapter 5. A Symbolic Convergence Perspective
Symbolic Convergence Theory
Fantasy Theme Analysis
Rhetorical Visions and Master Analogues
Life Cycles, Types, and Cues
Conducting a Symbolic Convergence Analysis
Chapter 6. A Neo-Marxist Perspective
Ideology and Hegemony
Materialism and Economic Metaphors
Sites of Struggle
Conducting a Neo-Marxist Analysis
Chapter 7. Feminist Perspectives
Hegemony
Sites of Struggle
Waves of Feminism
Feminist Perspectives
Conducting a Feminist Analysis
Chapter 8. A Music Perspective: The Illusion of Life
Music As Rhetoric
The Illusion of Life: Virtual Time and Virtual Experience
Conducting an Illusion of Life Analysis
Chapter 9. Visual Perspectives
History and Nature of Visual Communication
Visual Theory Perspectives
Visual Pleasure Theory
Conducting a Visual Pleasure Analysis
Chapter 10. Media-Centered Perspectives
Media History and Evolving Insights
Media-Centered Theories
Conducting a Media-Centered Perspective Analysis
Appendix. Writing a Popular Culture Rhetorical Essay
About the author
Deanna D. Sellnow is a professor of strategic communication in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at the University of Central Florida. She conducts research in two major areas. The first focuses on strategic instructional communication in a variety of contexts including both in-person and online classrooms, as well as risk, crisis, and health communication contexts. The second focuses on rhetorical studies of popular culture (ranging from music to advertisements to television programs and feature films). She has conducted funded research for the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her work is published in refereed national and international journals, as well as several books. She has presented her work across the United States and in many countries around the world, including Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, England, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Senegal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, and Vietnam. She and her husband, Tim, have a daughter (Debbie) and son-in-law (Scott), son (Rick) and daughter-in-law (Sarah), and three grandchildren (Lincoln, Emmett, and Rosemary).
Thomas G. Endres is a professor of Communication Studies at the University of Northern Colorado, where he serves as coordinator to the Leadership Studies (LEAD) minor and to the Extended Campus online degree completion program. In a career marked primarily by administrative (chair or director) responsibilities, he found time to conduct research in the areas of pedagogy, popular culture, and rhetoric. He has published several dozen refereed articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and an encyclopedia entry, applying Bormann’s Symbolic Convergence Theory to the study of rhetorical communities; examining such diverse collectives as single mothers, father-daughter dyads, laity in the Catholic church, and tattooed people. He is author and photographer of two books: Sturgis Stories: Celebrating the People of the World’s Largest Motorcycle Rally and, most recently, My Costume, Myself: Celebrating Stories of Cosplay and Beyond. He has delivered more than 250 presentations, workshops, and keynote addresses across the United States and in countries such as Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Tom has four children (three daughters, one son) and, at the time of writing, two grandchildren. He lives in Greeley, CO, with his wife Maki Notohara Endres.
