The Rhetoric of Social Intervention

Susan Opt (Ph.D. & M.A., The Ohio State University; B.F.A., Wright State University) is chair and associ-ate professor in the Communication Department at Salem College. She has experience teaching a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses including communication theory, communication re-search, intercultural communication, public relations, public speaking, organizational communication, journalism, and special topics such as the rhetoric of social intervention. Opt has three main areas of re-search: social/cultural change from a rhetorical perspective, college students' perceptions of HIV/AIDS, and the relationship of Myers-Briggs personality types to communication variables. Her work has been published in journals such as Communication Quarterly, Journal of Radio Studies, Journal of Psychology, and the New Jersey Journal of Communication. She has also authored or co-authored four book chap-ters. Prior to becoming a full-time academic, Opt worked in the publishing industry as a journalist, type-setter, and book production editor. Dr. Mark A. Gring (Ph.D., The Ohio State University; M.A. & B.S., University of Texas at Austin) is the graduate adviser and Associate professor of Communication Studies at Texas Tech University. He has taught courses in rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism, persuasion, communication theory, argumentation and debate, and communication pedagogy at the graduate and undergraduate levels. His research foci include the analysis of religious discourse that brings about sociopolitical change (in the United States and in Latin America), the epistemic nature of rhetorical activity, the application of ideological assump-tions to the mass media, and the pedagogy of public speaking. His most recent work has been an analy-sis of post-9/11 sermons and their response to terrorism and war. His work has appeared in journals such as Rhetoric and Public Affairs, World Communication Journal, Journalism History, Basic Course Annual, Journal of Communication and Religion.

Section I: The Rhetoric of Social Intervention Model 1. Rhetoric as Social Intervention Intervention Systems Rhetoric Rhetorical Criticism RSI Model Rhetorical Lenses Book Overview Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Sharing Students' Insights 2. Naming as a Social Intervention Naming Overview The Naming Process The Rhetorical Functions of Naming The Rhetorical Strategies of Naming Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Making Sense of Experience 3. Systemic Naming as Social Intervention Ideology Need Subsystem: Intrapersonal Categorizing Power Subsystem: Interpersonal Categorizing Attention Subsystem: Interpretative Categorizing Subsystems as Holographic Systems Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Abstracting From Experience 4. Widening Circles of Intervention System Intervention Attention Intervention Power Intervention Need Intervention Ideology Intervention Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Compensating for Social Order Challenges 5. Process and Practice of RSI Criticism Preanalysis: Naming the Social Intervention Analysis: Asking Critical Questions Postanalysis: Writing the Critical Essay Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Finding Inspiration 6. Process and Practice of Intervention The Model as Practical Intervention The Model as Rhetorical Intervention The Book as Intervention Chapter Summary Review Questions Chapter Exercises Service Learning Exercise Under the Lens: Interpreting Scholarship Section II: RSI Criticism Essays RSI Essays Introduction Essay 1: From Count Them Out to Count Us In, by Shannon DeBord Essay 2: "The Lady's Not for Turning," by Seth Phillips and Mark Gring Essay 3: The Butterflies' Rhetorical Challenge, by Omolara Oyelakin Essay 4: Born to Power, by Lee Snyder