Designed specifically for noncommunication scholars, Introduction to Communication Criticism is an informally
written, practical guide about how to think, how to communicate effectively, and how to filter meaning out of the
swarm of communication that seeks our attention daily. Undergraduates will learn how understanding the fundamental
principles of communication helps them judge the potential effectiveness, effects, truths, and ethics of all types
of communication from classical "soapbox speeches" to reading a magazine, talking to a boy/girlfriend,
watching court proceedings, or watching the TV news. In a format similar to most public speaking courses, author
Jodi R. Cohen introduces classical theories of rhetoric at the beginning of each chapter, then expands the discussion
with contemporary postmodern theories, touching on concerns with aesthetics and cultural bias as well. Question-and-answer
sections in each chapter and many specific, down-to-earth examples will attract and encourage students to harness
the power of communication that shapes who we are, what we know, and what we do.
Table of Contents
Preface
I. An Introduction to Communication and Criticism
1. The Need to Think Critically About Communication
2. How to Think Critically About Communication
II. Critical Concepts that Focus on Language
3. Language as Style
4. Language as Sign Systems
5. Language as Metaphor
III. Critical Concepts that Focus on Structure
6. Structure as Organization
7. Structure as Editing Images
8. Structure as Narrative
9. Structure as Drama
IV. Critical Concepts that Focus on Reasoning
10. Reasoning as Rhetorical Argument
11. Reasoning as Field Dependent Argument
12. Reasoning as Narrative
V. Critical Concepts that Focus on Character
13. Character as Ethos
14. Character as Identification
15. To come
VI. Critical Concepts that Focus on Emotion
16. Emotion as Pathos
17. Emotion
VII. Developing Critical Powers
18. Critical Powers Over Who We Are, What We Know, and What We Do
