ABSTRACT

Several contemporary rhetorical theorists emphasize the context or situation in which rhetoric occurs. Kenneth Burke (1897-1993) was the most influential of twentieth-century US rhetorical theorists. Burke referred to this notion of persuasion through emphasizing commonality as identification. Rhetorical scholar Lloyd Bitzer calls identification "the key term in Burke's theory of rhetoric". Burke's best-known contribution to rhetorical theory is his dramatistic pentad, presented in A Grammar of Motives. Different images or arguments may be employed to make the same point repeatedly. In his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama emphasized change as a central theme. He and his staffers brought the idea of change before the public in a variety of messages and media such as speeches, advertisements, songs, anecdotes, and lines delivered in debates. Rhetoric of display studies explores how visual rhetoric affects audiences in a variety of ways and through a wide range of rhetorical forms. Theories rediscover the relationships between rhetoric and life in the symbolic world.