In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

PROPHETS GURUS PUNDITS RHETORIC “This groundbreaking volume explores the neglected subject of the public intellectual from a rhetorical perspective. A special strength is its attention to the media presence of the intellectual, giving us a way to understand today’s bloggers and talking heads as within a long rhetorical history of those who advise the public. Students of politics, rhetoric, history, and media will not want to miss reading this one.” —Barry Brummett, University of Texas at Austin In Prophets, Gurus, and Pundits, author Anna M. Young proposes that the difficulty of bridging the gap between intellectuals and the public is not a failure of ideas; rather, it is an issue of rhetorical strategy. By laying a rhetorical foundation and presenting analytical case studies of contemporary “public intellectuals,” Young creates a training manual for intellectuals who seek to connect with a public audience and effect change writ large. Young begins by defining key aspects of rhetorical style before moving on to discuss the specific ways in which intellectuals may present ideas to a general audience in order to tackle large-scale social problems. Next, she defines the ways in which five crucial turning points in our nation—the rise of religious fundamentalism , a growing lack of trust in our institutions, the continued destruction of the environment, the ubiquity of media and information in our daily lives, and the decline of evidence-based reasoning—have set the stage for opportunities in the current public-intellectual dialogue. At once a rallying cry and a roadmap, Prophets, Gurus, and Pundits draws upon rhetorical expertise and analysis of contemporary public intellectuals to offer a model for scholars to effectively engage the public—and, in doing so, perhaps forever change the world in which we live. ANNA M. YOUNG is an associate professor of communication at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington. She is the coeditor of a textbook, Professional Communication Skills, and has published essays in a variety of scholarly venues, including the Quarterly Journal of Speech. southern illinois university press w w w.siupress.com PROPHETS, GURUS, & PUNDITS: Printed in the United States of America ...

Share