THE RHETORICAL ACT: THINKING, SPEAKING AND WRITING CRITICALLY, Fourth Edition, teaches you how to craft and critique rhetorical messages that influence, inviting and enabling you to become an articulate rhetor and critic of the symbolic universe. The text combines thorough coverage of rhetorical criticism, media literacy, and strategic public speaking, providing a solid grounding in essential concepts while helping you hone your skills in each area.

Author Biography

Susan Schultz Huxman is an associate professor and director at the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Bethel College in Kansas, and her master's and doctoral degrees in communication studies with an emphasis on rhetoric from the University of Kansas. She has won numerous teaching awards, including the WSU Academy for Effective Teaching Award bestowed by the Kansas Board of Regents in 2006. She regularly teaches honors public speaking, rhetorical criticism, and strategic communication in organizations. An active scholar, she has published in the field of rhetorical criticism and U.S. public address. She engages in a range of professional speaking opportunities each year to advance the discipline, develop support for the school, and showcase scholarship in action. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. She is author or co-author of many critically acclaimed titles in rhetoric, including THE INTERPLAY OF INFLUENCE: NEWS, ADVERTISING, POLITICS, AND THE INTERNET (6th ed., 2006), as well as many journal articles. She received a fellowship at the Joan Shorenstein Center in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the National Communication Association Distinguished Scholar Award, and the National Communication Association Woolbert Award for scholarship of exceptional originality and influence. She was selected as the 2002 Distinguished Woman Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences by the Office of the Vice President for Research at the University of Minnesota, and in 2007 she was selected to deliver the Ada Comstock Women's Scholar Lecture at the University of Minnesota. She has taught at the University of Kansas; City College of C.U.N.Y; S.U.N.Y. at Binghamton and Brockport; the British College in Palermo, Sicily; and California State University at Los Angeles.