Rhetoric Of Identification Research Articles

The Rhetoric of the Body in BP Koirala’s Life Narratives

This paper examines the rhetorical significance of representing body in BP Koirala’s life narrative published in the form of an interview taken between 1979 to 1981. Using Kenneth Burke’s rhetoric of identification and Michel Foucault’s notion of body as the theoretical framework, the paper explores the motif of the narrator behind representing his body through his narrative among the contemporary intended audience. Koirala identifies with the public by means of the rhetoric of his body narrative. His motif behind the narrative is to showcase his national ethos through the pains and torments he had sustained in his body and to identify with the ethos of the general public thereby evoking civic national ethos. The study reveals that body can work as a powerful instrument in writing the life narrative that evokes the author’s sense of shared ethos.

A rhetoric of style: Eleanor Rigby and the reordering of popular music

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present a synthesis of Kenneth Burke’s rhetoric of identification and Jay Lemke’s social semiotics to frame Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles as a unique point in the phylogenesis of recorded popular music. We emphasise the social semiotic functioning of string arrangements as styles, with style also being understood in the manner of Burke, and style names and definitions being drawn from a corpus analysis of string arrangements for popular music. We argue that, through a rhetoric of style, Eleanor Rigby made canonical claims against rock's cultural counterpart, classical music. We demonstrate the working of the rhetoric and its political implications in the context of the counter-cultural forces active during the mid-1960s.

Constructing conflict and cooperation: The rhetoric of coalition bargaining

The central contention of this article is that coalition bargaining is permeated by the competing imperatives of unity and distinctiveness, and that rhetoric is key to managing these. Drawing on Kenneth Burke’s ‘new rhetoric’, the article distinguishes three forms of identification and division – ideological, instrumental and interpersonal – at work within coalition bargaining. This framework is applied to the negotiations on electoral reform that preceded the formation of the UK coalition government in 2010. The analysis reveals that, through the rhetoric of identification, senior Conservatives and Liberal Democrats discovered ideological common ground on the equalization of constituency boundaries, together with a shared interest in promising to hold a referendum on AV, and thus succeeded in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement on this contentious issue.

The circle of life: Rhetoric of identification in Steve Jobs' Stanford speech

We sought to understand from a rhetorical perspective the sources of the runaway popularity of Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech. Our analysis shows the rhetorical sophistication of this speech in terms of mutually reinforcing use of established dynamics, canons, and devices of rhetoric. We find however that these aspects of classical rhetoric are imbued with and reinforced by Burkeian identification processes that permeate the speech. We contend that an important aspect of leaders' rhetorical competence, and an enabler for constructing evocative, impactful rhetoric is the skillful employment of processes of identification.

Medical Narrative and the Rhetoric of Identification: The Many Faces of Anna White Dildane

ABSTRACTWhen Anna White Dildane, a prostitute and heroin addict, was committed to the Laboratory of Social Hygiene (LSH) in 1917, she was treated by a staff that anticipated the methods of the biopsychosocial model later developed by Engel. That is to say, the staff members believed that Anna’s rehabilitation was contingent on a scientific diagnosis of the physical, mental, and social factors that underlay her condition. However, using Anna and the LSH as a case study, we draw from Latour to show the limitations of this “modern” method of diagnosis and treatment that persists today. Using Burke, we advocate for a pragmatic orientation focused on creating rhetorically oriented narratives whose aim is to help patients make judgments about their health and future, namely, by bringing about the experience of “form” capable of constituting new types of identification. Effective medical rhetoric thus adopts a method of persuasion that begins with the narrative and self-understanding of the patient, links aspects of that narrative with the technical expertise of physicians and other health care providers, and crafts a new, more specialized narrative attentive to the desires and constraints of a patient’s form of identification that is ultimately the seat of judgment.

On the Migration of Pi: Toward a Rhetoric of Identification

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi showcases a singular odyssey in which the protagonist demonstrates not so much a rhetoric of persuasion as a rhetoric of identification. One finds no conquest of otherness in the novel as is oftentimes witnessed in classical rhetorical maneuvers—Pi’s oratorical expression entails merely partial submission and repression. Pi is invariably seen to be engaged in rhetorical situations where the common remains sought for but is not possible without the immanence of division and separateness. Such a dilemma is quite the case with his views on animals and particularly with his relation to the Bengal tiger, Richard Parker. Thus, this study aims to argue that Pi’s negotiations with otherness en route feature Kenneth Burke’s idea of “identification” in the so-called “new rhetoric,” instead of Aristotle’s persuasion-bound rhetoric. That is, Pi’s migration is a quest for the common in the realm of rhetoric without institutionalizing the other.

A festivus for the restivus: Jewish-American comedians respond to Christmas as the national American holiday

AbstractDrawing on scholars who have discussed humor's capacity to simultaneously unite and divide (Appel 1996; Mintz 1999; Meyer 2000) and on Kenneth Burke's (1969b) rhetoric of identification and division, this paper describes the rhetorical strategies Jewish-American humorists have used to respond to Christmas as a national American holiday. An examination of Jewish humor about Christmas contributes to the growing literature describing how Jewish humorists have helped shape American popular culture (Bloom 2003; Cohen 1987; Gabler 1988; Limon 2000; Zurawik 2003). In addition, our paper makes a theoretical contribution to the study of humor by expanding upon previous research that has focused on how humor creates unity and division. Specifically, we explain how humor can foster identification and division simultaneously not only between groups, but inside each of us, often resulting in partial forms of identification and division with our humorists.

The Republican Rhetoric of Identification With Gay and Lesbian Voters in the 2000 Presidential Campaign

The apparent resonation of George W. Bush and the Republican Party with gay and lesbian Americans secured 25% of their vote in the 2000 presidential election. Before offering an analysis of the 2000 Republican campaign rhetoric aimed at lesbians–gays, the article makes a case for the power of their vote in determining who took the presidential office in January of 2001. The major focus of the work centers on a study of the Republicans' efforts to identify with gay and lesbian voters. Relying on Kenneth Burke and other noted theorists, the article examines four key events: (a) an April 13, 2000, gathering with lesbian and gay representatives; (b) the 2000 Republican national convention; (c) the vice presidential campaign debate; and (d) the second presidential campaign debate. A final section discusses the significance of the study, especially regarding political candidates wanting to identify with previously unfriendly voting groups.

Democracy and America's war on terror

Robert Ivie, who has written extensively over the last thirty years on America's rhetorical appetite for war, discusses democracy's centrality to the national identity and how prevalling constructions of democracy constitute a republic of fear in which the threat of foreign and domestic others is chronically exaggerated through rituals of villification and victimization. In reassessing the nation's traditional distrust of democracy (the lively and healthy exchange of differing ideas and ideals) and critiquing the rhetoric of evil, Ivie argues that the problem of international terrorism is best addressed by strengthening, rather than weakening, America's democratic practices - that is, by enriching a democratic culture of robust debate. Divisive Issues, for Ivie, should be engaged overtly and constructively, contested through a rhetoric of identification that bridges the differences between adversaries without effacing their identities. This would be, he believes, a strategy more responsive to, and realistic for, the prevailing condition of racial diversity in the global information age. Democracy and America's War on Terrorism will be of interest to public policymakers and informed general readers as well as students and scholars in the fields of rhetoric, political theory/philosophy, democratic theory, U.S. foreign relations/policy, war and peace studies, terrorism, and cultural studies.

Spiritual‐material identification in the deep ecology movement

In an attempt to reverse the ecological damages of anthropocentric and materialistic cultures, deep ecology attempts, through a rhetoric of identification, to revise the dominant values of its audiences, advancing the ideas that non‐human life has intrinsic value and that the welfare of human beings is tied to the well‐being of the environment. Applying David Payne's concept of spiritual‐material identification, I argue that deep ecology's efforts fail because the movement forces a false division between spiritual and material understandings of various aspects of environmental debates. In advancing this claim, I examine basic philosophical texts of the movement for their spiritual and material themes. At stake in deep ecology's rhetorical efforts is not only the potentially beneficial revision of cultural values concerning nature, but also the intellectual and spiritual development of deep ecology activists who adhere to the movement's literature and philosophies.

"Both Joined and Separate": English, Mary Antin, and the Rhetoric of Identification

When I teach college composition to ESL students, I spend much of my time thinking about linguistic matters. But, since I am a student of rhetoric, I also try to understand goals my students hope to achieve with their second language. When asked about their motives for studying English, they initially offer variations of most popular answer: mastery of language will allow for academic success, which will in turn bring about professional and financial success. Sometimes, though, these students point to less material rewards: closer relations with native speakers, a more intimate understanding of culture. I encourage my students to articulate their hopes and motives for learning English because we are often led to a discussion of cultural realities (i.e., ethnocentrism, racial prejudice) which can stand in way of inclusion and empowerment. My students often reveal that they are sometimes perceived as foreigners and others, but, like Richard Rodriguez, they continue to express their faith that English, along with academic diligence, will allow them to overcome obstacles associated with these labels. I share their faith, but I know that for many years to come my students will have to navigate cultural frontiers separating mainstream Americans from ethnic and linguistic minorities. At several junctures, they will feel compelled to change themselves in order to pass through, and such changes will require them to relinquish their parents' beliefs, values, traditions, and customs. Some writers, most notably Richard Rodriguez, have argued that these students must change--that is, they must become more and less ethnic. But, even if one rejects Richard Rodriguez's argument that mastery of English should accompany adoption of a public identity at expense of an ethnic one, he or she would probably agree that learning a public discourse can have profound effects on a student's identity. What, then, are some of more interesting and important effects? In order to find answers, I have studied rhetoric of several ethnic writers who provide detailed accounts of their linguistic assimilation into American culture. In this article, I would like to focus on autobiography of Mary Antin, a Russian Jew who came to America at turn of century. I chose her book, Promised Land, because Antin not only writes about her language studies in detail, but because she also describes their impact on her perception of herself. More importantly, as Timothy Parrish has suggested, The Promised Land is Antin's attempt to instruct her American readers about effect that her assimilation should have on their perception of her. It is, then, rhetorical autobiography of a language learner. Put another way, Mary Antin's statements about language learning are part of a symbolic attempt to cross cultural borders, often by identifying, in implicit and explicit ways, with people she finds on the other side. Indeed, I will even go so far as to assert that when Antin writes about language learning, identification is her immediate rhetorical aim. This aim is itself motivated by a desire to be included, to participate in conversations which will allow her to obtain social goods such as prestige and respect as well as credibility needed to instruct and even criticize her American readers. To claim that Antin writes about language learning in order to identify with a certain group is to introduce a fascinating and complex range of rhetorical aims and tactics for study. In Rhetoric of Motives, Kenneth Burke provides us with a theoretical framework for analyzing such aims and moves, and, more significantly, scenes in which they occur. Burke claims that in certain scenes division creates need for identifications, a series of rhetorical practices: If men were not apart from one another, there would be no need for rhetorician to proclaim their unity (22). …

The rhetoric of identification and the study of organizational communication

This essay argues that scholars of rhetoric and communication broaden their conception and application of Kenneth Burke's “rhetoric of identification.” The first part of the essay offers the individual‐organization relationship as an exemplar for understanding and examining the rhetoric of identification. The second section derives a tentative typology of identification strategies and tactics and applies it in a critical assessment of corporate house organs. The essay concludes with an interpretive explication of the process of identification in contemporary business organizations.

Trees or forest?: A response to Gresson's “phenomenology and the rhetoric of identification”

Gresson's discussion of the phenomenology of coalition formation emphasizes the importance of “transcending experiences” for the alliance of sociopolitical outgroups. This article suggests two additional considerations. First, the outgroups which Gresson examines are the consequence of a democratic system which failed to adequately establish a societal “we‐relationship.” Second, the communicative act itself (apart from its content) creates or nurtures a “we‐relationship” between individuals. Thus, leader communication with the potentially disaffected may help unify the society, apart from the message strategies employed. President Carter's public appearances during his first 17 months were studied to illustrate his coalition of “we‐relationships.”

Phenomenology and the rhetoric of identification—A neglected dimension of coalition communication inquiry

(1978). Phenomenology and the rhetoric of identification—A neglected dimension of coalition communication inquiry. Communication Quarterly: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 14-23.