QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

RHETORICAL TEXTUAL CRITICISM

CRITICAL TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

I. CRITICISM DEFINED A. The analysis, interpretation, and/or

evaluation of a text, using some type of critical method of analysis (drawn from theory or emerging from data).

1. Descriptions focus on meanings, functions, themes, patterns, etc.

2. Interpretations extend the descriptions into logically-deduced inferences (may be about effects of the message or some other inference)

Critical Textual Analysis, Con’t.

3. Evaluation uses standards or criteria to assess messages a. Drawn from theory, from data, from

society, or the critic’s own values: 1) Effectiveness of message 2) Aesthetic quality of message 3) Social-cultural worth of message 4) Truth quantities of message

b. Must justify why standard is appropriate for a particular message

c. Burden of proof on critic for validity of interpretations & evaluations

Critical Textual Analysis, Con’t.

B. Qualities of the “ideal critic” (Hart): 1. Skepticism ("taking a second look") 2. Discernment ("paying attention“--

concentrate on less obvious details) 3. Imagination (ask non-obvious

questions about a message) 4. Objectivity (follows structured

procedures for critical interpretations; able to “bracket out” biases, etc.)

5. Familiar with multiple methodologies (or ways to analyze artifacts)

II. BASIC PROCEDURES FOR CRITICAL TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

A. Formulate tentative RQ(s) for analysis 1. May select artifact first, then derive

RQ(s) from it 2. May be implicit rather than explicitly

stated] B. Select an artifact (or artifacts):

1. Constitutes basic data for the analysis.

2. Should be appropriate for the RQs (or vice-versa)

Basic Procedures, con’t.

3. Artifact(s) usually a symbolic text (or texts) of some type (written, oral, visual, mediated, artifactual, etc.)

4. Can examine whole artifact (or a set of artifacts) or a part of an artifact

5. Assumes that technology influences both form of artifact(s) & its reception

6. Unobtrusive & relatively fixed--some type of source (or sources) produced the text & receivers react to it

Basic Procedures, con’t.

7. Differs from Content Analysis 1) Limited focus 2) Does not use coders or code data 3) Does not aim to generalize its results 4) Usually does not make hypotheses or

test relationships between variables 5) Usually descriptive & interpretive in

approach 6) Has evaluative aspect

Basic Procedures, con’t.

8. Differs from other qualitative inquiry (e.g. conversational analysis) a. It is message-centered & usually non-

reactive (no researcher effects) b. However, sometimes such work may

include a discussion of audience reaction or reception to the message

c. Examples include Reader-Response criticism & Reception theory, using data gathered from an audience via a survey, observation, and/or interview technique)

Basic Procedures, con’t.

C. Select unit of analysis (or a method)--what aspects of artifact will be used to answer the RQ? 1. Should illuminate significant features of

the artifact 2. Appropriate to artifact & RQ. 3. May be broad (e.g. strategies, values,

etc.) or relatively narrow (e.g. metaphors, non-verbal actions, etc.)

4. Can also select units from theory or theories (e.g. the Burkean pentad)

Basic Procedures, con’t.

D. Analysis of the artifact--usually in detail, based on units (or method) 1. Aim for “objectivity” (not making a priori

assumptions & conclusions about what will be discovered)

2. Stance is one of “informed innocence” (Fisher), or “letting the text speak to you” (permits serendipitous outcomes)

3. Do a “close reading” of the artifact 4. Includes descriptions & preliminary

interpretations of the artifact 5. Usually interpretive, but may use statistics

Basic Procedures, con’t.

E. Interpretations of artifact--two basic types: 1. Intrinsic--focus on content

a. Manifest content—surface or explicit meanings in a text, including style, structure, apparent meanings, themes, etc.

b. Latent content—deconstructing the text, or “reading between the lines,” to find more hidden, or implicit, messages

2. Extrinsic interpretation--focus on context or other external phenomenon

a. Social, cultural, or political issues b. May analyze message effects

Basic Procedures, con’t.

F. Evaluate message–Rod Hart’s "incomplete" list of potential standards for critics: 1. Utilitarian (did the message do what it

intended?) 2. Artistic (was it well-formed?) 3. Scientific (did it accurately represent

reality?) 4. Moral/ethical (did it advance 'the

good' & encourage public virtue?)

Basic Procedures, con’t.

5. Historical (will the message endure?)

6. Psychological (did it engage the emotions of the listeners, reassuring, motivating, and/or renewing such listeners?)

7. Political (did it advance the goals of social groups studied)?

III. RHETORICAL CRITICISM

A. Definitions of rhetoric 1. Traditionally defined as the study of all

available means of persuasion (“adjusting ideas to people & people to ideas”—D. Bryant)

2. More current--any use of symbols for the purpose of communicating with each other (e.g. S. Foss)

3. Assumes reality created through rhetoric (communication)

B. Definitions of Rhetorical Criticism

1. Criticism often is "associated with carping, with tearing down, with the pointed, negative comment" (Andrews, p.3)

2. Andrews-we are all informal critics whenever we question whether or not something works, is meaningful, ethical, etc.

3. The rhetorical critic just systemizes this process

4. Andrew defines the process of rhetorical criticism as "illuminating & evaluating the products of human activity" (p. 4)

Definitions of Rhetorical Criticism, con’t.

5. Criticism ideally "builds understanding," both of the object being criticized and of ourselves as critics

6. No universal criteria, but some accepted methodologies

7. As much analytical as it is evaluative, with several goals: a. To inform us about the state of discourse; b. To ascertain the social worth of discourse; c. To discover the limits of knowledge (to

understand ourselves)

C. Dimensions of rhetorical criticism

1. Systematic analysis (using a set of procedures to guide the analysis)

2. Studying symbolic acts & artifacts (qualities, characteristics, etc.)

3. Understanding rhetorical processes (how particular symbols operate & what they mean in a broader socio-cultural sense)

4. Understanding the nature of rhetoric

D. Purposes of rhetorical criticism (Hart. Modern Rhetorical Criticism, 1990):

1. "Rhetorical criticism documents social trends," calling attention to unnoticed persuasive features (33);

2. Insights gained in examining a few examples applied to the general communication process aids understanding (34-35);

3. Produces meta-knowledge or “explicit understanding of implicit realizations“ (35); a. It helps explain "how we know what we know"

(35-36, emphasis his) b. Such criticism encourages an active

participation with the messages we receive every day (37);

Purposes of rhetorical criticism, con’t.

4. Rhetorical criticism is a "way to get outside of oneself“ (Hart, 39) a. It assumes that we cannot

understand others unless we understand how & why they act as they do

b. It brings us face to face with experiences & perceptions that are not our own (39)

E. “Ground rules" for engaging in criticism (Hart, pp. 39-47):

1. “Messages make sense to someone"--criticism seeks to understand how & why;

2. "All criticism is autobiography“ a. No critical response can be completely

objective; b. Critics should be aware of their own

biases; 3. Description should occur before

interpretation & evaluation 4. Explain message prior to drawing

inferences & assessing it

“Ground Rules,” con’t.

4. Don’t be overly specialized in selecting a message to study a. Messages worth analyzing have

implications beyond themselves b., that messages from the past can be

quite useful today c. “Great" persons not always the most

worthy to study d. It is not enough to merely translate a

message, but must explain & evaluate it

F. Foci for Rhetorical Criticism

1. Source-centered focus [e.g. Neo-Aristotelian] a. Could be historical/biographical b. Examine personal ethos or credibility

of the source c. Examine psychology of the source D. Often focused on significant rhetors,

especially of the past

Foci for Rhetorical Criticism

2. Message (or discourse)-centereda. Examines text & its meaningb Looks at structures, patterns,

symbols, etc.; e.g. metaphoric criticism, archetypal criticism

c. Also may consider channels of discourse (e.g. TV, film, speech, etc.)

Foci for Rhetorical Criticism

3. Situation (context)-centered a. Might examine the rhetorical situation

(Bitzer), or the exigencies producing the message

b. Might examine general social-cultural-political environment (as in many social movement studies)

c. Context oriented; can be combined with critical theory to examine issues of power, ideology, etc.

Foci for Rhetorical Criticism

4. Audience-centered a. Can do directly, through interviews

with an audience, but usually inferred from the text

b. Examine message effects—need not relate to intentions of the source

c. May be a type of social-cultural criticism; also can be combined with critical theory

5. Foci can be combined

IV. TYPES OF RHETORICAL CRITICISM

A. Traditional/Neo-Aristotelian criticism 1. Concentrates on source & his/her persuasive

response to rhetorical problems 2. Usually involves a deductive analysis of the

message, speaker, & situation, which can be historical or current

3. Might use the traditional Canons of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, delivery, & memory)

4. Might focus on use of ethos, pathos, logos, etc.

Neo-Aristotelian Criticism, con’t.

5. General assumptions: a. Society is stable; humans are rational. b. The rhetorical process consists of

essential, unchanging components which can be discretely analyzed.

c. Rhetorical concepts accurately describe reality.

Example—Leff “Cooper-Union”

B. Burkean Dramatism

1. Assumes that critics need to find the relationships between speaker, message, & society.a. "Society is in process, but fairly

stable relationships govern human interactions" (Brock, et. al. 1989);

b. A person's symbol-system influences his/her perception of reality;

c. Rhetoric is not persuasion but identification

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

c. Burke--"Humans are the symbol-making, symbol-using, symbol-misusing animal, inventor of the negative, separated from our natural condition by instruments of our own making, goaded by the spirit of hierarchy, acquiring foreknowledge of death, and rotten with perfection" (Legacy of K.B., p. 263)

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

2. Discourse needs a unified, yet flexible framework for systematic study (a theory to data method).

3. Focuses on psychological components of rhetoric (audience & situation focused)

4. Burke defined rhetoric generally as the use of language as a symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

5. Pendatic analysis--examine how the following are used by the speaker: a. the act (what was done); b. the scene (when or where it was done); c. the agent (who did it); d. the agency (how was it done); e. the purpose (why it was done); f. determine ratios between these five aspects; g. show how the speaker creates audience

identification through the use of these aspects

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

6. Cluster analysis--examine recurring forms (symbols) used by the speaker: a. identify key terms (the most important used in

the discourse) b. analyze the collapse of recurring symbols into

clusters c. examine how the patterns recur or change

over time; d. examine potential oppositions among the

forms; e. determine representative anecdotes (clues to

values of the speaker)

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

7. Analysis of Hierarchy a. Arise because necessary, thus hierarchies are

inescapable in human affairs. b. Each group in the hierarchy strives for the

perfection that the top represents. c. All ranks in the hierarchy share in the ordering

principles of the hierarchy d. Unification is achieved in part through mystery

& ritual e. Examine problems & divisions

1) Terministic screens 2) “Occupational psychosis” 3) “Trained incapacity”

Burkean Dramatism, con’t.

8. The “rhetoric of rebirth” a. Hierarchies become polluted

1) Poor actions of leaders 2) Contradictions between ideals & reality 3) Failure of mystery

b. Disobedience creates guilt c. Guilt must be purged for restoration

1) Symbolically dumping the sins onto the scapegoat & "killing" it

2) 2 types—victimage & scapegoating d. The social order is purified & redeemed

C. Fantasy Theme Analysis

1. Ernest Bormann (1972): "individuals in rhetorical transactions create subjective worlds of common expectations and meaning“ (400)

2. Rhetorical visions act as coping mechanisms "for those who participate in the drama" (400).

2. Analysis generally does the following: a. examine the historical/cultural situation; b. determine dramatic elements (heroes, villains,

plot, narrative form, etc.); c. examine the emergence of recurring stories

(fantasy themes), and how they "chain out" into larger rhetorical visions;

d. evaluate rhetorical impact of themes & visions (effectiveness & rhetorical legacy)

D. FISHER’S NARRATIVE PARADIGM

1. Humans are seen as story-telling animals (homo narrans)

2. Focuses on value-laden stories that have persuasive meanings & effects

3. Tested through narrative coherence (probability) & narrative fidelity, or how true the stories are to our experience (Fisher, Human Communication As Narration, 1987, 64-65) a. Narrative coherence ascertained

through an analysis of recurring form

Narrative Paradigm, con’t.,

4. Narrative fidelity ("good reasons")--critic seeks the answer to the following questions: a. Fact--what are the implicit & explicit values

expressed? b. Relevance--are these values appropriate (to

speaker, to listeners, to situation, etc.)? c. Consequence--what are the effects of

adherence to these values (to self & society)? d. Consistency--are the values affirmed in the

experiences of oneself & others? e. Transcendent issue--do the values constitute

an ideal basis for human conduct?

E. CULTURAL RHETORICAL CRITICISM

1. Examines the structure, institutions, & processes of society & communication

2. Viewed as continuously interacting & mutually defining systems

3. Societies develop ways to minimize change, while also promoting stability (& inertia)

4. Communication study occurs within the parameters of consensual societal values

5. Both our perceptions of reality, & the rhetorical options open to individuals determined by the symbolic frameworks which unify & regulate society

Cultural Rhetorical Criticism, con’t.

6. A wide variety of methods & perspectives can be employed to examine societal discourse

7. All seek understanding through the examination of society as a whole

8. Often examine issues of power & oppression

9. Makes use of theories & methods of cultural studies, critical theory, etc.

10. Includes feminist criticism, ideological criticism, etc.