Polemical Style Research Articles

Whose English? A Guide to Rhetorical Style in the Nineteenth Century

This article explores the history of the English-language style guide, a genre of writing with beginnings in the eighteenth century. Gaining popularity in the Victorian period, the style guide began to solidify as a genre dedicated to preserving certain linguistic usages. I argue that, from the nineteenth century on, the best style guides have used rhetoric as the cornerstone of their linguistic philosophy. Guides which ignore rhetorical scholarship tend to be reactionary and of limited use to the reader. To emphasize these two types of guides, I look specifically at The Queen's English and The Dean's English, two extremely popular, polemical style guides written in the mid-nineteenth century.

Whose English? A Guide to Rhetorical Style in the Nineteenth Century

:This article explores the history of the English-language style guide, a genre of writing with beginnings in the eighteenth century. Gaining popularity in the Victorian period, the style guide began to solidify as a genre dedicated to preserving certain linguistic usages. I argue that, from the nineteenth century on, the best style guides have used rhetoric as the cornerstone of their linguistic philosophy. Guides which ignore rhetorical scholarship tend to be reactionary and of limited use to the reader. To emphasize these two types of guides, I look specifically at The Queen’s English and The Dean’s English, two extremely popular, polemical style guides written in the mid-nineteenth century.

Nomenclature as a social institution of Soviet society (to the discussion in the journal «Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya»)

The polemical style of the article is due to the appearance in the sociological literature of ideas that emphasise the enduring nature of the existence of the nomenclature as a class, inherent in both the Soviet and modern Russian state. Also, no less controversial are the ideas that reduce the function of the nomenclature exclusively to a certain mechanism for the nomination of cadres, based on the increased responsibility of party organisations for the ideological and economic policies carried out by economic bodies. The article offers a sociological and cultural-historical explanation of the nature and essence of the nomenclature as a social institution and social group inherent exclusively in the Soviet statе. The author emphasises the concrete-historical nature of this phenomenon, conditioned by the specific ideological, economic, political and social conditions of the Soviet state at the dawn of its formation and formation. The article reveals the main function of the nomenclature as a social institution, the main purpose of which was to implement and develop a new system of relations, principles and ideals of Marxism, embodied in the Soviet project. It is argued that the implementation of this goal was carried out by solving two main tasks: first, the comprehensive development of the productive forces, which was realised through the organisation of a planned economic system and the mobilisation principle of economic construction. Secondly, the preservation of the principles of interaction, the ideals and values of communist ideas, not only as a matter of course, but also, if possible, as a matter of fact. This was carried out through an ideological monopoly, which was based on a certain interpretation of Marxism and a system of agitation and propaganda built on it. The success of the nomenclature in solving these problems is emphasised. However, the article is not an apologetics of the Soviet nomenclature, since it shows the reasons for not only the «rise», but also the «fall» of the nomenclature as a power-management structure of the Soviet society. The main conclusion of the idea presented in the article is to prove the transitory nature of the existence of the nomenclature as a social institution, due to the specific economic, ideological, political and social conditions of the Soviet state, with the fall of which such a social group as nomenclature also went into oblivion. It is argued that in the new Russian state, built on completely different economic and ideological principles, the need for such a social institution has disappeared.

The Tone Debate: Knowledge, Self, and Social Order

In the replication crisis in psychology, a “tone debate” has developed. It concerns the question of how to conduct scientific debate effectively and ethically. How should scientists give critique without unnecessarily damaging relations? The increasing use of Facebook and Twitter by researchers has made this issue especially pressing, as these social technologies have greatly expanded the possibilities for conversation between academics, but there is little formal control over the debate. In this article, we show that psychologists have tried to solve this issue with various codes of conduct, with an appeal to virtues such as humility, and with practices of self-transformation. We also show that the polemical style of debate, popular in many scientific communities, is itself being questioned by psychologists. Following Shapin and Schaffer’s analysis of the ethics of Robert Boyle’s experimental philosophy in the 17th century, we trace the connections between knowledge, social order, and subjectivity as they are debated and revised by present-day psychologists.

F. M. Dostoevsky in the Biased Opinions of the Feuilletonist and Critic V. P. Burenin

The influence of the critic V. P. Burenin on the public life of the 1860s — 1880s is great: his popularity was comparable to that of V. G. Belinsky in the 1840s. According to B. B. Glinsky, everyone has secretly read Burenin's feuilletons, even those who despised the newspaper Novoe Vremya (New Time) and personally hated its critical columnist for the sharpness and rudeness of his polemical style. The article examines the evolution of the critic's views of F. M. Dostoevsky’s work and his role in Russian journalism and literature. In the initial period of his activity, V. P. Burenin tended to adhere to common moods and assessments, and scolded Dostoevsky. Gradually, he realized the scale of Dostoevsky's writing gift. Already a famous and influential author of the Novoe Vremya (New Time), V. P. Burenin became a great admirer, friend and defender of the writer. He was one of the few critics who appreciated the Writer's Diary. After Dostoevsky's death, Burenin maintained good communication with the writer's widow. Their correspondence makes it clear that A. G. Dostoevskaya considered Burenin her colleague in preserving the legacy of her late husband. The letters contain previously unknown information, namely, that the correspondence of the Novoe Vremya (New Time) about the fire in Staraya Russa were penned by A. G. Dostoevskaya herself, as well as some other information about Dostoevsky and the fate of his legacy.

Zwischen Bauhauskritik und Bauforschung: Konrad Nonn

Abstract As a committed publicist, the architect and ministerial official Konrad Nonn is known as one of the most prominent right-wing critics of the Bauhaus. Both the extremely polemical and inflammatory style of his texts and his incessant agitations against the school and its director Walter Gropius have contributed to seeing him as an oddity driven by a peculiar, almost pathological hatred. However, the perception of Nonn as a mere eccentric obscures the fact that he was by no means a loner. In fact, during the Weimar Republic, Nonn was a recognized member and functionary of a number of professional associations in the field of architecture. One such association was the Koldewey Society of architects working in the field of archaeology, whose members can be found in the elitist educated middle-class spectrum of the Weimar period. Within this educated bourgeois, humanistic elite with its special moral based attitude towards modernism in Germany, Nonn represented a cultural-conservative-national position. Although not equally shared, this position was widely understood and accepted by Nonn’s peers. Not least the moral support from these associations, in which he was also active as an official, allowed him to continue his agitation against the Bauhaus even after setbacks and to regain status from 1933. Nonn’s criticism of the Bauhaus can therefore be seen as an extreme reaction of the German humanistically very well-educated academic elite against the challenges of modernization, but not just as an isolated nerd’s extremist activism.

Evolution of views and modern concepts of the state of the hemostasis system in liver cirrhosis

Aim. To study the state of individual elements of the hemostasis system in liver cirrhosis according to modern literature.Summary. The review presents an analysis of literature data covering the state of the homeostasis system in liver cirrhosis. The pathophysiological and pathogenetic mechanisms that underlie the disorders that occur in various parts of the hemostatic system in this pathology are described in a polemical style. Literature data concerning a relatively littlestudied aspect of cirrhosis – hypercoagulation are analyzed. From the standpoint of modern concepts and taking into account the peculiarities of hemostasis disorders, the pathogenetic significance of the vascular endothelium and endothelial dysfunction is postulated. As well as the role of inflammatory mediators in the development of coagulopathy and intravascular coagulation syndrome in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.

El fenómeno José María García: publicidad de radio deportiva española en prensa (1972-1981)

Entre 1972 y 1981, José María García consiguió un éxito rompedor en la Cadena SER. Su periodismo deportivo de investigación y denuncia y su estilo polémico le otorgaron grandes audiencias, ingresos publicitarios y repercusión, hasta ser todo un «fenómeno García» (Díaz, 1995: 346; Alcoba, 2005: 170) e incluso «el periodista más famoso de España» (Ferrer, 2016: 101). Esta investigación analiza cómo esta popularidad se reflejaba en la publicidad costeada por la SER en la prensa diaria generalista, y si la «marca García» suponía diferencias en la estrategia publicitaria de esa emisora con respecto a otras ofertas. Para ello, se ha efectuado una selección de 85 anuncios de cinco radios (SER, RNE, RCE, Radio Intercontinental y Radio España de Madrid) en Diario 16 y ABC, a los que se ha aplicado una ficha de análisis denotativo, connotativo y estratégico, seguida de un enfoque cualitativo sobre las particularidades de cada radio. Los resultados señalan que, si bien el personalismo también fue utilizado por otras cadenas, en particular las privadas, la imagen de García fue utilizada por la SER, como reclamo en calidad de «estrella radiofónica», aunque con un protagonismo mayor para promocionar sus programas regulares que en las retransmisiones de partidos.

Arjunopākhyāna: An Idealist Non-dualistic Translation of the Bhagavadgītā

Abstract This paper suggests that the narrative retelling of the Bhagavadgītā (BhG) dialogue that occurs in the sixth book of the Mokṣopāya (MU) (ca. 950 CE) known as the Arjunopākhyāna (AU) functions as a polemic style semantic translation that shifts the meaning of the original story with which it shares content, characters, elements and verses, illustrating a different doctrine in the process. Just over thirty quoted verses from the BhG are recontextualized and merged seamlessly with verses that are original to the MU, translating them into the non-dualistic, idealist conceptual language of the MU. The nonduality at the heart of Vasiṣṭha’s teaching in the MU is different from the theistic Sāṃkhya-influenced duality of Kṛṣṇa’s discourse in the BhG. Puruṣa and prakṛti are consistently replaced in the AU by an all-encompassing singular consciousness whose cosmic mind imagines everything, including Kṛṣṇa, all subjective agency, worship and liberation.

СТИЛІСТИЧНІ ФІГУРИ В ЕСЕЇ ЄВГЕНА СВЕРСТЮКА “СОБОР У РИШТОВАННІ”

The article considers stylistic devices in the essay of Ye. Sverstyuk “Cathedral in Scaffolding” as important linguistic means of expressiveness and logic organization of the publicistic text. Studying the category of expressiveness, which is provided by language means, is especially relevant for the study of the journalistic style genres, which perform two main interrelated functions – informing and affecting the reader. The purpose of the research is to analyze stylistic devices in Yevhen Sverstiuk’s essay “Cathedral in Scaffoldingˮ as important linguistic means of the logical and emotionally-expressive organization of the text. The emphasis is laid on the analysis of the figures of speech, most inherent in the intellectual and polemic style of the author’s narrative, namely, antithesis, parcelling, rhetorical questions, inversion, and stylistic devices of repetition (anaphora, epiphora), composite links. Stylistic devices make the text logical and expressive. The logical function of a stylistic device provides information correctness of the text, promotes its division into semantic segments/ fragments. The expressiveness is achieved by mental operations of convergence or opposition of concepts due to skillful changes of the author’s language tactics and results in the enhanced influence on the reader. Ye. Sverstyuk uses stylistic figures to draw the attention of the addressee (by highlighting keywords), to emphasize his point of view and provide the coherence of the discourse.

Dialectics versus polemics in Chinese rhetoric: A study of indirection in Chinese and Chinese ESL argumentative writing as compared with English argumentative writing

AbstractThis study investigates Chinese indirection in argumentative writing. It examines whether there is a fundamental difference between Chinese and English rhetoric in their preferred method of argument, as suggested by instructional materials on how to argue effectively (Liu, Lu. 2005. Rhetorical education through writing instruction across cultures: A comparative analysis of select online instructional materials on argumentative writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 14. 1–18). A comparative analysis of 90 argumentative essays respectively written by expert Chinese and English writers, and advanced Chinese ESL learners reveals that while the English essays tend to adopt a polemical style that persuades by defeating opposing arguments, a significant proportion of the Chinese essays show a dialectical style which examines opposing positions without taking sides and yet rising above them to resolve conflicting issues. A significant number of Chinese ESL writing follow a similar dialectical pattern although not as frequently as their expert writers. A cultural explanation is attempted to account for the phenomenon. It is also argued that the dialectical model, while subsuming earlier rhetorical models adopted for analyzing Chinese writing, may hold the key to studying Chinese differences from the English in written arguments.

The Epistolary Counterpoint in V.V. Rozanov’s Polemic Works (On the Materials of the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library)

The article presents the categories of the declared topic (counterpoint, dialogism). It considers a viewpoint on the method of philosophical monologue in V.V. Rozanov’s works. In contrast to previous studies, the article shifted the focus of consideration of the creative method of V.V. Rozanov towards publication of his correspondents’ letters. The author joins the scientists who consider polyphonism to be the main method of poetics of V.V. Rozanov’s works. The article deals with the principal ideas of the dialogic method used by the thinker to work with the texts of the letters. The article notes the novelty in Russian literature of the epistolary-dialogical genre used by the writer during the publication of letters of such prominent figures of Russian culture as V.S. Solovyov, S.A. Rachinsky, N.N. Strakhov, which are now stored in the Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library. V.V. Rozanov’s use of notes and comments to letters of his correspondents can be considered priority, marking the beginning of his unique polemic style, which eventually grew into the unsurpassed author’s genre of “fallen leaves”. It is noted that it was V.V. Rozanov who managed to turn the genre of notes from an auxiliary component of book’s content into the main one. In addition to well-known epistolary publications in the series “Literary Exiles”, the article draws attention to the fact that V.V. Rozanov uses letters of the clergy in the course of the religious and philosophical discussions of the early 20th century on modernization of the Church. The article confirmed the point of view that V.V. Rozanov used the dialogical method while creating the texts of his publications, by the example of his work with letters in the unique genre of “Literary Exiles” and in early polemical works. There is shown that the process of literary creation in V.V. Rozanov’s works invariably reflects the discursive nature of his way of thinking and exhibits before the reader the creator of new forms of self-expression in literary creativity.

Transfers of anti-Waldensian material from a polemical treatise to a didactic text

Ulrich von Pottenstein translated Petrus Zwicker’s anti-Waldensian treatise Cum dormirent homines (1395) in his large catechetical encyclopaedia (ca. 1410), written in Early New High German. The translation was dispersed in different chapters, transforming the reading experience of the anti-heretical work but at the same time adding a polemical element to a pastoral text. The article discusses the historical context of Zwicker’s original Latin treatise and Ulrich’s translation, in particular the inquisitions against Waldensians that Zwicker led in Austria in the 1390s, as well as Ulrich’s ecclesiastical career. The second part of the article explores solutions Ulrich had to employ when he translated a text for a lay audience that was not only polemical but also required from its readers a basic understanding of exegesis. Finally, the reasons for Ulrich’s decision to translate Zwicker and the composite nature of the pastoral-didactic text with polemical passages is discussed. As for polemical treatises in general, the motivation behind Ulrich’s translation was to defend the Church against its enemies. Ulrich’s vernacular text had potential to extend the audience of a Latin anti-heretical treatise, but his catechetical encyclopaedia was too large and tedious to read to ever become a popular work. The article proposes that the polemical nature of the original was not mitigated in the process. On the contrary, Ulrich does not shy away from using denigrating or violent language, and polemical style is an essential part of his catechesis. A further study of polemical style in late-medieval pastoral and didactic works, especially vernacular texts, is proposed as a promising area of future research.

Giovanni Sartori and the institutional reforms in the Italian ‘Second Republic’

ABSTRACTThe essay retraces and analyses critically the politics of institutional change that has characterised the so-called Italian Second Republic and the peculiar majority democracy that has taken shape in Italy since 1994. The changes are considered from the perspective of Giovanni Sartori’s thinking and in particular his theory of democracy. His thought was expressed both in scientific works and through a continuous stream of newspaper articles, most notably those published in Corriere della Sera. Examination of his thought reveals that he was an incisive and constant critic of the institutional features of the peculiar form of Italian majoritarian democracy. For twenty years Sartori’s acute and unremitting criticism, delivered in a sharply polemical style, accompanied all the major changes in the new Italian democracy, from the introduction of plurality electoral systems to the attempt to introduce the so-called strong premiership; from Berlusconi’s conflict of interests to the new personal parties, such as Beppe Grillo’s populist Five-Star Movement; from ‘mistaken ideas about democracy’ to fierce defence of the liberal features and safeguards of democracy.

The Language of Discontent: Shelley’s Use of Diatribe in Queen Mab

An obstacle to the appreciation of Shelley’s youthfully rebellious Queen Mab is its overly polemical and didactic style. What is insufficiently recognized is that Shelley’s approach has a solid literary and philosophical foundation. His fierce ‘diatribes’ against the existing order of things – the endemic and infamous alliance of state, religion and commerce – neither implode the aesthetics of the poem, nor are simply rough-hewn, adolescent invectives against custom and privilege. The composition (including its prolific notes) draws strength from earlier precedents, most notably Lucretius’s De Rerum Natura which markedly influenced the Enlightenment. In the main body of his work (Cantos 2–7), masked by the benign fairy, Queen Mab, Shelley steers a course modulating from castigation to mockery, counterbalancing diatribes with encomia – presented as reverse reflections of each other. Similar to a caricaturist, Shelley decodes and belittles the icons of state power which form a closed circuit of depravity, sealed off from public scrutiny or reform. Although compromised by a vengefulness which the later Shelley disowns, the diatribes of Queen Mab clear a path towards a better world, pointing to the resonance and vitality of Shelley’s brave intervention.

Theology and Threshold: Victorian Approaches to Reviving Choir and Rood Screens

In 1851, A. W. N. Pugin published an influential treatise on rood screens, intending in his irrepressible polemical style to create further Gothic Revival momentum for inserting these iconographically complex and liturgically vital elements into Roman Catholic and Anglican churches throughout Britain and its empire. In the decades that followed, debates regarding ritual, aesthetics, materials, and Eucharistic theology surrounded the design, presence, and indeed absence of these screens. This interdisciplinary article on the borderlands between architectural history and theology explores what was at stake in the religious symbolism of a small number of diverse screens designed by George Gilbert Scott, George Frederick Bodley, and Ninian Comper, considering them in light of the key writing produced by Pugin at the mid-point of the nineteenth century, as well as by priest–architect Ernest Geldart in the century’s end. This study, together with its three short films that explore the screens’ meanings and histories in situ, charts shifts in theology and style as each architect offered innovative views through delicate latticework of stone, paint, and wood towards the Christian sacred epicentre of the Incarnation and the sacrifice of the Eucharist.

ЛІНГВОСТИЛІСТИЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПОЛЕМІЧНИХ ТЕКСТІВ ІПАТІЯ ПОТІЯ ТА ІВАНА ВИШЕНСЬКОГО В НАУКОВІЙ ІНТЕРПРЕТАЦІЇ І. ФРАНКА

In this article the language and stylistic peculiarities of works of Ivan Vyhenskii and Ipatii Potii in the scientific interpretation of Ivan Franko are investigated. The formation of Ukrainian polemic and publicistic style by authors is analyzed. The main features of the style of the writers are defined. The specific features of the main works of Ipatii Potii and Ivan Vyshenskij in the context of the epoch of Ukrainian literature Baroque in general and polemic literature partly are analyzed. It is represented the author vision of the main language and stylistic features of texts by Ipatii Potii behind Union and works of Ivan Vyshenskij against Union. It is underlined that Ivan Vyshenskii was the first writer who wrote in Ukrainian language. He founded the epoch of Baroque in the Ukrainian literature.

Śrīharṣa on Knowledge and Justification

In this paper I explore the extent to which the dialectical approach of Śrīharṣa can be identified as skeptical, and whether or how his approach resembles that of the first century Mādhyamika philosopher Nāgārjuna. In so doing, I will be primarily reading the first argument found in Śrīharṣa’s masterpiece, the Khaṇḍanakhaṇḍa-khādya (KhKh). This argument grounds the position that the system of justification (pramāṇa) that validates our cognition to be true is not outside of inquiry. Closely adopting Śrīharṣa’s polemical style, I am neither proposing a thesis in this paper that Śrīharṣa is a skeptic, nor am I denying such a possibility. I believe we can pursue our arguments on a neutral ground and let the facts speak for themselves. I will outline salient features that define skepticism in the mainstream philosophical discourse so that analyzing Śrīharṣa’s first argument becomes easier. In so doing, I will introduce some of the arguments of Nāgārjuna in light of Śrīharṣa’s position. This comparison, however, is restricted only to the salient features relevant to further the central argument of this paper and is therefore not aimed to encompass the overall positions of these two giants.

Does Inequality Really Matter?

There is a great temptation to deal with the issues of inequality either in terms of economics alone or in a polemical style that simply dwells on the bad effects of inequality-as if that solves the problem. Instead, I want to start by seeking to address this issue more theologically, thus my question, Does inequality really matter?So what if there's inequality? There has always been inequality and there most certainly always will be inequality. This is not just a quick lapse into an approach much influenced by Darwin, that affirms the solutions for our society are about survival of the fittest and devil take the hindmost, if you'll excuse the mix of disciplines in that sentence. Rather, it's a genuine question in terms of a world that is deeply caught up in diversity, and seemingly to the world's great benefit.To put it another way: are the extremely wealthy merely the latest or possibly the last minority, a persecuted group to be identified, whom we need to defend, not attack? Should there be marches, or possibly processions of limos or Rolls Royces (necessarily chauffeurdriven), down Wall Street or Lombard Street with elegantly crafted placards produced by top-end designers saying, Justice to the ultrarich, Billionaires are people too? Why does inequality matter?I want to go back to two originating stories, turning first to the Genesis story and the development of diversity within humanity in its earliest forms.In the great west window of Canterbury Cathedral, in the center of the bottom row of stained glass, there is an image of Adam digging in the Garden of Eden. The cathedral, for those who do not know it, progresses from west to east upwards, like this church. As you go further east you go further up, except in Canterbury it's pretty steep: it goes up about thirty-five feet. At the east end, just near where the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury would have been until the Reformation, there is the throne of St. Augustine, into which one is rather firmly put when you start this job. Archbishop Robert Runcie used to say that he was constantly reminded that when he sat on the throne of St. Augustine, he was level with Adam digging at the other end of the cathedral.Underlying that comment is a wealth of thoughtfulness about the relative importance of offices to which others ascribe importance, but also the significance of Adam digging in the garden. One can meditate for days on those particular stories in the early chapters of Genesis. But one of the aspects to note is that at the beginning we are all equal. In the days of the English revolution in the seventeenth century, the gentry who were overthrowing the tyrannical rule, as they saw it, of Charles I were not in the slightest bit interested in equality with the peasantry. They wanted a decent hierarchy, only with those who were slightly more important taken down a peg or two, or taken off a head or two. Cromwell took strongly against the levelers and the diggers, quasi-communist groups who went back to Adam and Eve and proclaimed there should be no social distinctions. Hierarchy is deeply embedded, but the Adam and Eve story, the story of the Garden, has constantly come back to capture the imagination of those who see that in the creation of God there is equality.And at the heart of the Genesis story of the creation of human beings is the essential nature of the human being, both male and female, existing to know God intimately and to walk intimately with God. There is an equality of worship, in adoration of the presence of God; there is an equality of reveling and feasting, in fellowship with God in the Garden. Equality is a gift in creation, it is the foundation of equality before the law, equality of voice in the public square, equality in righteousness.Walter Brueggemann makes a similar point in his commentary on Isaiah, concerning chapter fifty-nine. The postexilic community in Israel is deeply flawed: not by its lack of worship, of which there is plenty, but by its inequalities injustice, in voice, in inclusion of all who accept Torah, regardless of wealth and status. …

Lay Defender of Catholicism: Dr. Edward Swarbreck Hall in Tasmania 1833–1881

Tensions between Protestants and Catholics persisted throughout nineteenth‐century Australia. Historians have tended to examine the part played by the clergy, pressure groups or newspapers in sectarian disputes in the main colonies of New South Wales and Victoria. This article contributes to an understanding of anti‐Catholicism in the Australian colonies by focusing on the actions and writings of one Catholic layman, Dr Edward Swarbreck Hall, in mid nineteenth‐century Tasmania. To minimise religious hostility, Hall was tolerant towards Protestants, loyal to the British Crown, and worked co‐operatively with other creeds in helping the poor. This approach made Catholicism more acceptable to Protestant society until the late 1860s. Thereafter religious divisions became more pronounced with the appointment of Irish Bishop Daniel Murphy, who adopted the authoritarian policies of the papacy and asserted the rights of Catholics. Feeling threatened by Catholic assertion and antagonised by Catholic doctrinal beliefs, Evangelical Protestants expressed anti‐Catholic sentiments at public meetings and in newspapers. In showing how Hall defended Catholics when aspersions were cast on their clergymen, their character, or their religious practices, this article concludes that Catholics were not passive victims, but Hall's fierce polemical style worked against his desire for religious peace.