Michael Calvin McGee

The “ideograph”: A link between rhetoric and ideology

This essay attempts to describe political consciousness in collectivities. Symbolist thought, focused on the idea of “myth,” seems linked with material thought, focused on the concept of “ideology.” It is suggested that a description of political consciousness can be constructed from the structures of meaning exhibited by a societys vocabulary of “ideographs.”

Public knowledge and ideological argumentation

This essay explores two recently‐argued conceptions of the social‐political collective, Bitzers notion that there is a timeless “public” possessed of a unique kind of “knowledge” and McGees notion that there is an imminently present “people” possessed of an historically‐material “ideology.” It is argued that the ideas public and public knowledge are misconceptions of human society and of the function of discourse within it. The essay is in defense of the thesis that theories of “the public” are ideological, not philosophical, linked more with the political fortunes of an intellectual aristocracy than with the problem of creating a reliable theory explaining the relationship between rhetoric and human societies.

“Social movement”;: Phenomenon or meaning?

“Social movement”; is a set of meanings and not an objective phenomenon. We therefore require explanations of “movement”; in rhetoric, not explanations of persuasion in allegedly discrete and objective situations.

Secular humanism: A radical reading of “culture industry” productions

This essay argues that the critical theory of mass communication should focus less on critical paraphernalia than on descriptions of the “group consciousness” of consumers of culture industry productions. The technique of “radical reflection” is discussed as a means to address the problem of describing the consciousness of particular groups. An example is offered in the form of a detailed analysis of the consciousness of those fundamentalist Christians who lately have acted politically to “purify” the symbolic environment created by culture industry productions. The argument proceeds as an analysis of Jerry Falwells use of scriptural narratives as evidence in political discourse about the quality of culture industry productions.

Genesis and power: An analysis of the biblical story of creation

This essay suggests that power be conceived as a dialectic of “authorship” and “authority.” Interest in understanding the rhetorical power of sacred texts is blended with interest in explaining the cultural origins of Anglo‐American social order. Because it is inherently persuasive, and because it became the first principle of arguments for justifying hierarchy, the Biblical story of creation should be read as an archetype that circumscribes all possible power relationships in Judeo‐Christian cultures.

Book reviews: The province of reviewing books

New Horizons For Teacher Education in Speech Communication: Report of The Memphis Conference of Teacher Education. P. Judson Newcombe and R. R. Allen, eds. Skokie, Illinois: National Textbook Co., 1974; pp. viii + 188;

Text, context, and the fragmentation of contemporary culture

5.75. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication. By John C. Condon and Fathi Yousef. Indianapolis: The Bobbs‐Merrill Co., 1975; pp. 306.

In search of ‘the people’: A rhetorical alternative

3.95. History of the Theatre. By Oscar G. Brockett. 2nd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Company, 1974; pp. xii + 680.

Narrative Reason in Public Argument

13.95. Approaching Speech/Communication. By Michael Burgoon. New York: Holt‐Rinehart and Winston, 1974; pp. 396 + index + instructors manual.

The origins of “liberty”: A feminization of power

6.95. Communication Behavior and Experiments: A Scientific Approach. By R. Wayne Pace, Robert R. Boren, and Brent D. Peterson. Belmont, Cal.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1975; pp. x + 433.