Rhetorical critics suggest how to use symbols more effectively, how to communicate in more self-reflective ways, and how to construct messages that best accomplish intended goals. Familiarity with the processes of rhetorical criticism contributes to more effective communication with our friends and families, in the decoration of our homes and offices, in the choices we make about our dress, and in our efforts to present our ideas at school or at work.

Knowledge of the operation of rhetoric improves our skills as audience members for messages. When we understand the various options available to rhetors in the construction of messages and how they function together to create the effects they produce, we are able to question the choices others make in the construction of acts and artifacts. We are less inclined to accept existing rhetorical practices and to respond uncritically to the messages we encounter. As a result, we become more engaged and active participants in shaping the nature of the worlds in which we live.

Part I. INTRODUCTION
1. The Nature of Rhetorical Criticism
2. Doing Rhetorical Criticism
3. Neo-Aristotelian Criticism
Part II. CRITICAL APPROACHES
4. Cluster Criticism
5. Fantasy-Theme Criticism
6. Feminist Criticism
7. Generic Criticism
8. Ideological Criticism
9. Metaphoric Criticism
10. Narrative Criticism
11. Pentadic Criticism
12. Generative Criticism

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Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, Third Edition Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, and Robert Trapp Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2002 ISBN 1-57766-205-9

Thorough in scope and highly accessible, this volume introduces the reader to the thinkers who have exerted a profound influence on contemporary rhetorical theory. The brief biographical sketches locate the theorists in time and place, showing how life experiences influenced perspectives on rhetorical thought. The concise explanations of complex concepts are clear and provide readers with a solid foundation for reading the major works of these scholars. The critical commentary is carefully chosen to place the theories within a broader rhetorical context. Each chapter ends with a complete bibliography of works by the theorists. Previous editions have been praised as indispensable; the Third Edition is equally essential.

1. An Introduction to Rhetoric
2. I. A. Richards
3. Ernesto Grassi
4. Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca
5. Stephen Toulmin
6. Richard Weaver
7. Kenneth Burke
8. Jürgen Habermas
9. bell hooks
10. Jean Baudrillard
11. Michel Foucault

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Readings in Contemporary Rhetoric Karen A. Foss, Sonja K. Foss, and Robert Trapp, eds. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2002 ISBN 1-57766-206-7

Twenty-five selections written by important rhetorical theorists (Jean Baudrillard, Kenneth Burke, Michel Foucault, Ernesto Grassi, Jürgen Habermas, bell hooks, Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca, I. A. Richards, Stephen Toulmin, and Richard Weaver) allow the reader to sample the multiple voices contributing to the creation of knowledge through rhetoric. Exposure to the theorists' ideas in their own words provides a richer, more meaningful understanding. The extensive bibliography of works about the theorists included in the anthology is a valuable resource for further exploration of their works.

This book may be ordered from Waveland Press: www. waveland.com

Inviting Transformation: Presentational Speaking for a Changing World, Second Edition Sonja K. Foss and Karen A. Foss Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2003 ISBN 1-57766-252-0

Five core assumptions characterize invitational rhetoric: (1) the purpose of communicating is to gain understanding; (2) the speaker and the audience are equal; (3) different perspectives constitute valuable resources; (4) change happens when people choose to change themselves; and (5) all participants are willing to be changed by the interaction. The goals of invitational rhetoric are to clarify ideas and to create an environment in which growth and change can occur for both audience and speaker.

Speakers can facilitate the exchange of ideas by creating conditions of freedom, safety, value, and openness. Freedom is at the heart of an invitation to transformation-the freedom to choose to change; safety generates confidence for all participants to express ideas; value recognizes and appreciates the intrinsic worth of all participants; and openness is a willingness to explore diverse perspectives. This ideal environment increases the possibilities of achieving mutual understanding.

The authors designed the book as a concise guide for becoming adept and creative presentational speakers. Sample presentations reflect the diversity of interactional goals, focus, frames, organizational patterns, forms of elaboration, and connections discussed in the text.

1. Inviting Transformation
2. Developing Interactional Goals
3. Analyzing the Speaking Environment
4. Focusing the Presentation
5. Constructing Connections
6. Elaborating Ideas
7. Disclosing Form
8. Making Plans
9. Delivering the Presentations
Sample Presentations

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Feminist Rhetorical Theories Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, and Cindy L. Griffin Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1999 ISBN 1-57766-496-5, ISBN 978-1-57766-496-3

Feminist Rhetorical Theories offers feminist rhetorical theories developed from the works of nine feminist theorists who offer important insights into rhetoric and communication--Cheris Kramarae, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, Mary Daly, Starhawk, Paula Gunn Allen, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Sally Miller Gearhart, and Sonia Johnson. Each of the theories is explicated in terms of the nature of the world or the realm for rhetoric explicated by the theorist, the theorist's definition of feminism, the nature of the rhetor or the kind of agent the theorist sees as acting in the world, and the rhetorical options envisioned by the theorist as available to rhetors. The resulting theories of rhetoric, which are substantially different from traditional rhetorical theories, re-vision rhetoric and encourage scholars to rethink many traditional rhetorical constructs.

This book may be ordered from Sage Publications: www.waveland.com

Reading in Feminist Rhetorical Theory, Sonja K. Foss, Karen A. Foss, and Cindy L. Griffin Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 2004 ISBN 1-57766-497-3, ISBN 978-1-57766-497-0

With a broad conceptualization of rhetorical scholarship and theory in mind, editors Karen A. Foss, Sonja K. Foss, and Cindy L. Griffin have compiled essays and readings by feminist theorists whose work has relevance for rhetorical theory. This volume introduces readers to multiple feminist voices and perspectives and contextualizes theory as a way of framing experiences and events. The editors provide readers an inclusive, accessible collection of readings by key contemporary feminist theorists as well as spirited, approachable introductions to their work and their lives.

Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory features and pays homage to the work of nine influential theorists: Cheris Kramarae, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, Mary Daly, Starhawk, Paula Gunn Allen, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Sally Miller Gearhart, and Sonia Johnson. As the editors explain in their Introduction, these feminist theorists are featured because they have sufficiently large bodies of work that constitute coherent theories about communication or rhetoric and contribute to the re-conceptualization and transformation of rhetorical constructs and theories.

The editors introduce each theorist historically and conceptually through a brief biography and a discussion of the key ideas in the pieces selected. The works of each theorist

• represent the general content and form of the theorist's body of work;
• span the time period over which the theorist has been writing, tracing the evolution of her ideas;
• directly address concerns relevant to rhetorical theory or symbol use;
• vary in terms of types of work (essays, poems, short stories) to capture the range of each theorist's genre.

Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory is ideal for students in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication Studies, Women's Studies, and English and is an excellent companion volume to Feminist Rhetorical Theory.

This book may be ordered from Sage Publications: www.waveland.com

Women Speak: The Eloquence of Women's Lives Karen A. Foss and Sonja K. Foss Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1991 ISBN 0-88133-547-0

Women Speak is a collection of thirty examples of women's rhetoric in a variety of contexts. It makes available, in one volume, samples of the range of women's talk--from the informal and private to the formal and public. Using the framework for analysis provided by the authors as a starting point, students are encouraged to examine the texts as an impetus to exploring women's communication in their own lives.

Part 1. A new Context for the Study of Women as Communicators: Re-Visioning Public Address
Part 2. Framework for Analysis
Part 3. The Eloquence of Women's Lives
1. Architecture
2. Baking
3. Children's Parties
4. Comedy
5. Costume Design
6. Dance
7. Dress
8. Family Stories
9. Filmmaking
10. Gardening
11. Graffiti
12. Herbology
13. Holiday Greetings
14. Interior Design
15. Jewelry Design
16. Journal Writing
17. Language
18. Letter Writing
19. Mother-Child Interaction
20. Motherhood
21. Needlework
22. Newsletters
23. Painting/Printmaking
24. Photography
25. Poetry
26. Public Speaking
27. Quilting
28. Reading Group
29. Rituals
30. Shopping

This book is no longer in print.