
Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric
Barry Brummett(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 30. November 1991
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-0-275-94082-9 (ISBN)
Description
Intellectuals today cringe when a politician speaks of the Second Coming, the millennium, or the Antichrist. Certain questions naturally arise about those who literally expect the end of the world in our day: Why do they think this? Why do some people believe them? How do their exhortations work to persuade an audience and to move that audience to actions and commitments? These are the motivating questions of Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric, which describes apocalyptic as a rhetorical genre of discourse. Barry Brummett first recasts insights drawn from past scholarly and theological studies to demonstrate their relevance to contemporary apocalyptic, then examines a variety of real apocalyptic to illustrate the ways in which these rhetorical discourses actually work. The discussion focuses on those strategies, arguments, and stylistic features that are peculiar to apocalyptic and that support its social and political claims.
Following an introductory first chapter, Chapter Two describes how apocalyptic rhetoric links a psychological context to an esoteric grand order underlying all of time and the cosmos. Chapter Three compares premillennial and postmillennial apocalyptic on three dimensions to show the different approaches they take to reach their audiences. Chapter Four describes specific rhetorical techniques designed to maintain a mystic persona and urge social and political commitments on audiences. The final two chapters apply the author's theories to secular and religious apocalyptic, both premillennial (Hal Lindsey and Ravi Batra) and postmillennial (Francis Fukuyama). Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric will appeal to readers across many disciplines, including communications, religion, sociology, and psychology.
Following an introductory first chapter, Chapter Two describes how apocalyptic rhetoric links a psychological context to an esoteric grand order underlying all of time and the cosmos. Chapter Three compares premillennial and postmillennial apocalyptic on three dimensions to show the different approaches they take to reach their audiences. Chapter Four describes specific rhetorical techniques designed to maintain a mystic persona and urge social and political commitments on audiences. The final two chapters apply the author's theories to secular and religious apocalyptic, both premillennial (Hal Lindsey and Ravi Batra) and postmillennial (Francis Fukuyama). Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric will appeal to readers across many disciplines, including communications, religion, sociology, and psychology.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
482 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-275-94082-9 (9780275940829)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
BARRY BRUMMETT is Professor of Communication at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. His teaching and research interests are in rhetorical theory and criticism, media criticism, and the rhetoric of popular culture. He has published many works, including the recent Rhetorical Dimensions of Popular Culture.
Content
Series Foreword by Robert E. Denton, Jr. Preface Real Apocalyptic The Apocalyptic Context and Response: Order and Disorder Premillennial and Postmillennial Strategies The Apocalyptic Rhetor and the Grounding Text Critical Analysis of Premillennial Apocalyptic Rhetoric Critical Analysis of Postmillennial Apocalyptic Rhetoric Bibliography Index