Examines the ways Daoist (Taoist) thought may contribute to an understanding of human communication.

In the first book to systematically deal with Daoism (Taoism) from a rhetorical perspective, author Steven C. Combs advances the idea that the works of Daoist (Taoist) sages Laozi (Lao Tzu), Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu), and Sunzi (Sun Tzu) can be fused into a coherent rhetorical genre, which can then form a methodology for rhetorical criticism. This notion of Daoist rhetoric enables critics to examine discourse from new vantage points with novel processes and concepts that honor the creativity and complexity of human communication. Combs also critically examines four contemporary films-The Tao of Steve, A Bug's Life, Antz, and Shrek-to amplify rhetorical Daoism, to indicate clear differences between Western and Daoist values, and to offer fresh perspectives on individuals and social action. The book argues that Daoism provides a lens for viewing limitations of current Western rhetorical theorizing, positioning Daoist rhetoric as a potent critical perspective in the contemporary, postmodern world.

Offers a revised understanding of human subjectivity that avoids the extremes of both traditional humanism and cultural relativism.

By elaborating upon pivotal twentieth-century studies in language, representation, and subjectivity, Being Made Strange reorients the study of rhetoric according to the discursive formation of subjectivity. The author develops a theory of how rhetorical practices establish social, political, and ethical relations between self and other, individual and collectivity, good and evil, and past and present. He produces a novel methodology that analyzes not only what an individual says, but also the social, political, and ethical conditions that enable him or her to do so. This book also offers valuable ethical and political insights for the study of subjectivity in philosophy, cultural studies, and critical theory.

An insider explores the transformation of ballroom dance into an Olympic sport.

Drawing on recent media portrayals and her own experience, author and dancer Caroline Joan S. Picart explores ballroom dancing and its more "sporty" equivalent, DanceSport, suggesting that they are reflective of larger social, political, and cultural tensions. The past several years have seen a resurgence in the popularity of ballroom dance as well as an increasing international anxiety over how and whether to transform ballroom into an Olympic sport. Writing as a participant-critic, Picart suggests that both are crucial sites where bodies are packaged as racialized, sexualized, nationalized, and classed objects. In addition, Picart argues, as the choreography, costuming, and genre of ballroom and DanceSport continue to evolve, these theatrical productions are aestheticized and constructed to encourage commercial appeal, using the narrative frame of the competitive melodrama to heighten audience interest.

Presents a theory of discursive co-construction of problems, or how characters are portrayed in the telling of events.

Using discursive constructionism and conversation analysis, Talking Problems examines how participants orient to, communicate about, and act toward events as problems. The book examines a series of problems, including teenage parenthood in high school, interpersonal and family relationships during therapy, and racism and interracial relations on a university campus. These problems are taken as joint constructions and the interest is in how participants' versions of events get heard, what unfolds as a consequence of this, how participants position themselves, and what social realities are thereby created.

Tells the story of the relationship between two of the last century's foremost scholars of dialogue, philosopher Martin Buber and psychotherapist Carl Rogers.

Moments of Meeting tells the story of a uniquely important event in twentieth-century intellectual history, the 1957 public dialogue of philosopher Martin Buber and psychotherapist Carl Rogers, and explores the practical implications of that event for contemporary social and cultural theory. Supported by original historical research, close textual analysis, and a variety of interviews, the book illuminates the careers, theories, and practices of two of the last century's foremost scholars of dialogue, while it clarifies what they shared in common. Following a careful case study of the Buber-Rogers public conversation about the dynamics of dialogue itself, the authors conclude that public dialogue cannot be built primarily upon skillful technique. Instead, we must support settings and attitudes that enable unique "moments of meeting."

Drawing on examples from contemporary life, Woodward explores rhetorical conditions that create powerful moments of identification.

Illustrated with interesting examples drawn from politics and art, The Idea of Identification draws on classical social and rhetorical theories to establish a systematic framework for understanding the varieties and forms of identification. Woodward references a variety of contexts in contemporary life to explore the rhetorical conditions that create powerful and captivating moments. By invoking the influential ideas of Kenneth Burke, George Herbert Mead, Joshua Meyrowitz and others, he shows how the rhetorical process of identification is separate from psychological theories of identity construction. Woodward concludes with an argument that film theory has perhaps offered the most vivid descriptive categories for understanding the bonds of identification.

Explores new ways to think about privacy and disclosure.

Offering a practical theory for why people make decisions about revealing and concealing private information, Boundaries of Privacy taps into everyday problems in our personal relationships, our health concerns, and our work to investigate the way we manage our private lives. Petronio argues that in addition to owning our own private information, we also take on the responsibility of guarding other people's private information when it is put into our trust. This can often lead to betrayal, errors in judgment, deception, gossip, and privacy dilemmas. Petronio's book serves as a guide to understanding why certain decisions about privacy succeed while others fail.

Examines the representation of women in the media.

Winner of the 2003 Diamond Anniversary Book Award presented by the National Communication Association

In the media-saturated decade of the 1990s, news reports shaped public sentiment about women in electoral politics and beyond. Mary Douglas Vavrus explores the process of representing political women in media, and argues that contemporary news accounts promote a postfeminist politics that encourages women's private, consumer lifestyles and middle-class aspirations, while it discourages public life and political activism. The author discusses the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings of 1991, the 1991–92 "Year of the Woman" in politics, the 1996 presidential campaign's use of "soccer moms," and Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign for Senate in 2000. Vavrus assesses the logic that emerges in these narratives' recurrent themes about gender and explores their significance for women and for feminism, ultimately arguing that feminism has been supplanted by postfeminism in news accounts of political women.

Contributors engage the communication issues associated with violence in families, including interspousal violence and violent parents and children.

Although the United States has a high level of affluence and education compared to much of the rest of the world, neither wealth nor schooling ensures personal safety, particularly within the family and home. Every ten seconds, a child is beaten, neglected, or molested by his or her own family members, and many couples and children can be violent, abusive, and aggressive towards other family members as well. Family Violence focuses on the communication processes that occur before, during, and after these episodes. Contributors to the volume include both established scholars and newcomers to the communication field who use quantitative and qualitative approaches to unravel the complexities of the communication processes that are at the center of violence in families. Essays cover a range of topics, focusing separately on couples violence and violence between parents and children, and through the lens of communication research shed new light on the significant problem of domestic violence in the United States.

Advocates applying a spirit of play to everyday life.

In this lively and enlightening book, Paul Brenner suggests that treating life's events and everyday activities as a game would lead to a more socially functional and effective society. Through compelling suggestions and dynamic anecdotes, he conceptualizes all our economic, political, social, and spiritual pursuits in terms of role-play, and demonstrates the contribution this perspective can make to the happiness of individuals and to the systemic welfare of an increasingly complex social order.