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The Call: Eloquence in the Service of Truth
This book is a unique examination of the phenomenon of the call. Characterizing the call as a rhetorical event, the book identifies how speakers can use eloquence in the service of truth. Authors Craig R. Smith and Michael J. Hyde offer the rare combination of a phenomenology of the call linked closely to eloquence and explore this linkage by examining the components of eloquence, including examples of its misuse by George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The bulk of the text examines case studies of eloquence in the service of truth including epideictic, forensic, and deliberative eloquence, with examples drawn from addresses by Barack Obama, Daniel Webster, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Chase Smith, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney. The authors also examine the Epistles of St. Paul, the writings of St. Augustine, and the preaching of Jonathan Edwards. Finally, the book explores eloquence in filmic narratives and dialogic communication between artists and writers, concluding with a study of the sublime and how it is evoked with awe using the work of Annie Dillard.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2022
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About the author
Craig R. Smith
16 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Craig R. Smith is the director emeritus of the Center for First Amendment Studies at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught for twenty-seven years. He has served as a political speechwriter for President Gerald Ford, campaign manager for Senator Bob Packwood, and as a consultant to George Bush's presidential campaign.
In 2010 he received the Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association for his contributions to rhetorical theory.
Craig R. Smith is the director emeritus of the Center for First Amendment Studies at California State University, Long Beach, where he taught for twenty-seven years. He has served as a political speechwriter for President Gerald Ford, campaign manager for Senator Bob Packwood, and as a consultant to George Bush's presidential campaign.
In 2010 he received the Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar Award from the National Communication Association for his contributions to rhetorical theory.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 14, 2022
The Call: Eloquence in the Service of Truth, by Craig R Smith and Michael Hyde, uses the idea of the call to reclaim rhetorical eloquence from the perceived realm of the conman and put it back into the service of truth and good.
First, I should acknowledge that this book is going to take a couple of readings for me to gain a good grasp on. That said, I think I took enough away from an initial reading to appreciate the larger project and to motivate additional readings.
My first thought when I saw the title and brief description was the call and response in music. There is a relationship but had to set that idea aside so I could better grasp what was being presented. As one does in phenomenology, I had to bracket what I knew or thought I knew in order to observe what was present to me.
I hesitate to put to much of what I took away here because first readings for me are often my (often mis-) understandings. I'll say that the call is something that can be explicit as well as sublime. The response (I still revert back to the musical form) should come from a place of truth, or at least truth-seeking.. For that to happen, the call itself has to originate from, if not a place of truth, a place of desire for truth, a place seeking community in that seeking. My impressions here, while probably not completely accurate to what Smith and Hyde intended, are influenced by recent works I've read and movements I have been active in. In other words, while this book is largely abstract (even when using concrete examples) it is readily applicable to whatever a reader may be actively engaged in. That, for me, makes this a valuable book and worth my time and effort to better understand.
My apologies if I didn't make the book any more clear to you. I hope that I at least gave an idea why it could be a valuable addition to your reading list. Because part of my background is popular culture, I found their analyses of a couple of films very interesting.
Recommended for those interested in rhetoric and communications, both theoretically and practically.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
First, I should acknowledge that this book is going to take a couple of readings for me to gain a good grasp on. That said, I think I took enough away from an initial reading to appreciate the larger project and to motivate additional readings.
My first thought when I saw the title and brief description was the call and response in music. There is a relationship but had to set that idea aside so I could better grasp what was being presented. As one does in phenomenology, I had to bracket what I knew or thought I knew in order to observe what was present to me.
I hesitate to put to much of what I took away here because first readings for me are often my (often mis-) understandings. I'll say that the call is something that can be explicit as well as sublime. The response (I still revert back to the musical form) should come from a place of truth, or at least truth-seeking.. For that to happen, the call itself has to originate from, if not a place of truth, a place of desire for truth, a place seeking community in that seeking. My impressions here, while probably not completely accurate to what Smith and Hyde intended, are influenced by recent works I've read and movements I have been active in. In other words, while this book is largely abstract (even when using concrete examples) it is readily applicable to whatever a reader may be actively engaged in. That, for me, makes this a valuable book and worth my time and effort to better understand.
My apologies if I didn't make the book any more clear to you. I hope that I at least gave an idea why it could be a valuable addition to your reading list. Because part of my background is popular culture, I found their analyses of a couple of films very interesting.
Recommended for those interested in rhetoric and communications, both theoretically and practically.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Displaying 1 of 1 review