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Title: Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration & Practice by Sonja K. Foss ISBN: 0-88133-873-7 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Sonja Foss is verbose and arrogant in this book
Comment: Sonja Foss, author of _Rhetorical Criticism_, gives me the impression that she has never had to work outside the world of literary criticism. I have no problem with anyone using the lexicon of their field, but if this book's pedantic style marks it to be a book for undergraduate students, then I must suggest to students that more concise books are available. Sonja Foss likes to mention the famous rhetorician Kenneth Burke, on whose works she based this book, but she frequently dismisses his ideas as too elaborate to explain in her book. Burke is not so complicated that his name and ideas can be invoked but not explained, and indeed, one may argue that Foss might be difficult to follow. To iterate, chapter four of this book proposes that if you want to know what a book or speech or piece of artwork (an "artifact") is about, then look for a word or phrase or theme that gets continually repeated and assume that it is important. That is fine; that is a good idea. But Foss says, "In criticism in which key terms and the terms associated with them are used as units of analysis, the critic analyzes an artifact in three steps: (1) identification of key terms in the rhetorical artifact; (2) charting of terms that cluster around the key terms; and (3) discovery of patterns in the clusters around the key terms to determine meanings of the key terms for the rhetor," and then she still goes on and on. Excuse the following personal attack, but I believe that anyone looking to buy a college-level handbook should consider two things: the letters "PhD" and the name of a university after the author's name, and a list of other PhD's in the acknowlegment section of the book's preface. This book has neither of those.
Rating: 4
Summary: not bad
Comment: Bassically, if you have to learn about Rhetorical Criticism, this is the best book. It makes even some of the hardest methodologies such as FTA, postmodern abnd more seem easy to understand. What is even better, this bbok will show you how to apply these theories to an artifact. Good Luck.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Best Textbook for a Course on Rhetorical Criticism
Comment: I have used Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a textbook for my Rhetorical Criticism class in the past three consecutive years. Among many other choices of textbooks, I find this one to have more strength and most suited for my students and my teaching style. First, the layout of the book is very easy for students to approach. It proceeds from traditional to current modes of rhetorical criticism, which gives the reader a sense of theoretical development in the field of rhetoric and communication. It covers both the mainstream as well as marginalized ideologies and frameworks in rhetorical formulations. Second, for each mode of rhetorical criticism, Sonja Foss offers a lucid explanation of the rhetorical concepts, the purpose of the critiques, and steps to follow in writing a critical essay. While the procedure tends to be prescriptive, it also allows great flexibility in the writing process. Students like this approach, for it gives them a sense of direction as to how to analyze sysmbols and rhetorical acts as well as allowing them to be more critical and creative. Third, what students and I like most are the sample articles following each mode of criticism. These articles, written by scholars as well as Foss' former students, help the reader understand in depth rhetorical concepts and apply theoretical models to symbolic practices and real life situations. Finally, this textbook does not only teach our students rhetorical concepts and modes of critical inquiry, it also allows students to make a close connection between rhetoric and their real life experiences. By the time we finish each mode of criticism, students are all eager to write their own essays and find the process very meaningful and illuminating. In sum, I highly recommend Sonja Foss' RHETORICAL CRITICISM: EXPLORATION & PRACTICES as a college textbook for rhetorical crititcism class. I am sure once you start using the book, you do not want to change to another one.
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Title: Introduction to Rhetorical Theory (2nd Edition) by Gerald A. Hauser ISBN: 1577662210 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric (3rd Edition) by Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, Robert Trapp ISBN: 1577662059 Publisher: Waveland Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The History and Theory of Rhetoric: An Introduction (2nd Edition) by James A. Herrick ISBN: 0205314554 Publisher: Pearson Allyn & Bacon Pub. Date: 11 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $63.60 |
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Title: Modern Rhetorical Criticism (2nd Edition) by Roderick P. Hart ISBN: 0205196659 Publisher: Pearson Education Pub. Date: 12 November, 1996 List Price(USD): $67.60 |
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Title: A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric (Hermagoras Press) by James J. Murphy, Richard A. Katula, Forbes I. Hill, Donovan J. Ochs ISBN: 1880393352 Publisher: Hermagoras Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $34.50 |
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