Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice, Fifth Edition

Sonja K. Foss

Jul 2017 · Waveland Press

About this ebook

Over multiple editions, this transformative text has taught the lively art of rhetorical criticism to thousands of students at more than 300 colleges and universities. Insights from classroom use enrich each new edition.

With an unparalleled talent for distilling sophisticated rhetorical concepts and processes, Sonja Foss highlights ten methods of doing rhetorical criticism—the systematic investigation and explanation of symbolic acts and artifacts. Each chapter focuses on one method, its foundational theories, and the steps necessary to perform an analysis using that method. Foss provides instructions on how to write coherent, well-argued reports of analytical findings, which are then illustrated by sample essays.

A chapter on feminist criticism features the disruption of conventional ideologies and practices. Storytelling in the digital world is a timely addition to the chapter on narrative criticism. Student essays now include analyses of the same artifact using multiple methods. A deep understanding of rhetorical criticism equips readers to become engaged and active participants in shaping the nature of the worlds in which we live.

Ratings and reviews

I had to buy this book for a class and the actual book is very interesting and informative. However, I am very disappointed in the navigation of the book. The page numbers don't match up with the book's numbers at all. The table of contents only links to the two top sections and not to any of the chapters within those sections. It makes it very hard to locate any chapter unless you're reading it in order, which is rarely the case with textbooks.

The pages numbers don't line up with the book's, so it's very hard to navigate this book, which I found misleading because the sample pages DO line up.