Making Sense Of Messages

Making Sense of Messages

Making Sense of Messages, now in its second edition, retains the apprenticeship approach which facilitates effectively learning the complex content and skills of rhetorical theory and criticism. A new chapter on “The Rhetoric of Ignorance” provides needed theory and examples that help students deal with the new rhetorical landscape marked by such discursive complexities as “fake news,” “whataboutism,” and denial of science that creates rather than reduces uncertainty in public argument. A new chapter, “Curating and Analyzing Multimodal Mediated Rhetoric,” deals with problems of media criticism in the digital age. It provides theory, models of application, and commentary that help novice critics understand and mindfully practice criticism that leads to insight, not mere opinion. Throughout the book, extended and updated examples and commentaries are designed to promote "novice-to-expert" agency in students. This textbook is ideal for introductory courses in contemporary rhetoric, rhetorical criticism, and critical analysis of mass media.

Making Sense of Messages

Making Sense of Television

Taking the soap opera as a case study, this book explores the 'parasocial interaction' people engage in with television programmes. It looks at the nature of the 'active viewer' and the role of the text in social psychology. It also investigates the existing theoretical models offered by social psychology and other discourses. This second edition takes into account recent research work and theoretical developments in fields such as narrative psychology, social representation theory and ethnographic work on audiences, and look forward to the developing role of audience research. It will be an essential study for students and lecturers in social psychology and media studies.