Polarization

1The Core Elements of Rhetorical Theory

Before going further, it is important to outline the core elements of the contemporary theory of rhetoric and to lay the terminological foundations for the rest of this work. Such fundamental considerations are necessary because the academic study of persuasive communication spans a variety of scholarly disciplines today, each with its own set of research perspectives and terminological lexica.11 As a discipline, rhetoric has largely become a “victim of modern academic differentiation,” and modern rhetorical theory building has been limited to a few influential twentieth century thinkers.12 Such fragmentation has led to a myriad of “rhetorical” concepts, theories, and terminology in adjacent fields, and ...