Bending Opinion [electronic resource] : Essays on Persuasion in the Public Domain / edited by Ton van Haaften ... [et al.].

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Deliberation, free speech and the marketplace of ideas / Ineke Sluiter -- Rhetoric, classicism and democracy: the conveyance of moral and political values in late antique rhetorical education / Manfred Kraus -- Melody and rhythm in ancient political discourse. On how emotions induce persuasion / Marie Formarier -- Generalizing stasis theory for everyday use / Christian Kock -- Rhetoric and argumentation / J. Anthony Blair -- Generalizing about the persuasive effects of message variations: the case of gain-framed and loss-framed appeals / Daniel J. O'Keefe -- The contribution of praeteritio to arguers' strategic maneuvering in the argumentation stage of a discussion / A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans -- Limits and effects of reductio ad absurdum argumentation / Henrike Jansen, Marianne Dingemanse and Ingrid Persoon -- Professionalizing speech production. Changes in 15 years of ministerial speeches / Jaap de Jong and Bas Andeweg -- The correlation between style and argument in newspaper columns / Hilde van Belle -- If this goes on...: the rhetorical construction of future problems / Joel Best -- Exploring everyday ethos. Ethos techniques in online discussions about extraordinary experiences / Peter Burger and Lotte Anemaet -- The popular virgin and the wolf in sheep's clothing: a case study of the imaging of victims and offenders / Willem Koetsenruijter and Gabry Vanderveen -- "Conceptual and fanciful" or "a depiction of reality": exploiting visual modality to claim environmental ethos in UK advertizements [sic] for automotive and energy companies (2007-2008) / Susan Hogben -- Rhetoric and the (re)constitution of collective identity: the example of Poland / Cezar M. Ornatowski -- Symbolic power: political rhetoric in a state of exception / Bart van Klink, Olivier Lembcke and Pablo Leandro Ciocchini -- Do new parties bring personalization, a narrow issue agenda and populist rhetoric? Evidence from Dutch election campaign coverage from 1998 to 2006 / Janet Takens ... [et al.] -- Parliamentary debate and political culture: the Dutch case / Ton van Haaften -- Talking about sustainability: responses to frames in persuasive messages about sustainable agriculture and food / Baldwin Van Gorp and Margot van der Goot -- Responding to expert arguments: emerging lay topoi in focus group interviews on GM crops / Anders Horsbol -- Speaking of terror: challenging norms of rhetorical citizenship in Danish public discourse / Lisa Storm Villadsen -- Strategic maneuvering with linguistic arguments in the justification of judicial decisions / Eveline Feteris.

Rhetoric is, from both a practical and a theoretical perspective, essential to the conduct, analysis and evaluation of public debates. After all, the idea of Democracy is closely intertwined with the ideal of transparent decision-making on the basis of open high-quality discussions in the public domain. From classical antiquity till the present time, methods of organizing and conducting public debate and decision-making by which public speakers can effectively construe their message to persuade or to bend opinions of others have been hotly contested. "Bending opinion" is a collection of essays by distinguished international scholars that presents an overview of the state of interdisciplinary scholarship on the art of rhetoric and the varied approaches and methodologies within it, illustrated with relevant examples and compelling case studies.

Description based on print version record.