Invitational Rhetoric and Humor: Making Audience Laugh, Inviting Them to Think

Humor is a resource for discourse dealing with the taboo. Through the use of humor, comedians can practice uninhibited use of free public speech because audiences expect to laugh in these situations. This inherent expectation creates an environment where expression, objective opinions, and otherwise offensive ideas can be shared in a public space without fear of persecution or repercussion. As such, humor message creators are free to push social boundaries to create a discourse necessary to address what would be offensive. This freedom is important to this work because of how comedians approach the use of stereotypical ethnic humor. The culmination of audience expectation and openness creates an environment readily available for analysis of ethnic humor messages by researchers. Using the lens of Invitational Rhetoric, we uncover rhetorical messages embedded in the humor that work to challenge negative stereotypes about identity.

Invitational Rhetoric and Humor: Making Audience Laugh, Inviting Them to Think

Humor is a resource for discourse dealing with the taboo. Through the use of humor, comedians can practice uninhibited use of free public speech because audiences expect to laugh in these situations. This inherent expectation creates an environment where expression, objective opinions, and otherwise offensive ideas can be shared in a public space without fear of persecution or repercussion. As such, humor message creators are free to push social boundaries to create a discourse necessary to address what would be offensive. This freedom is important to this work because of how comedians approach the use of stereotypical ethnic humor. The culmination of audience expectation and openness creates an environment readily available for analysis of ethnic humor messages by researchers. Using the lens of Invitational Rhetoric, we uncover rhetorical messages embedded in the humor that work to challenge negative stereotypes about identity.

The effect of face-to-face communication on editorial stance: a case study of the 2010 Liberal Express tour

This Major Research Paper explores the value of face-to-face communication in a digital age by examining the effect of face-to-face communication on media coverage. The author outlines the theoretical components of agenda-setting theory, presentation theory, and invitational rhetoric to illustrate the process by which individuals or groups compete to gain attention and power, and the role that face-to-face communication can play to persuade. This theory is examined with a political case study of the Liberal Party of Canada’s cross-Canada bus tour in July and August of 2010. The author provides a discourse analysis of newspaper editorials published in Ontario, Canada before and after then-Party Leader Michael Ignatieff visited. The author observes that the tone of media coverage is more favourable after face-to-face communication with citizens and journalists took place, suggesting that face-to-face communication is an effective tool for politicians in a digital age.

The effect of face-to-face communication on editorial stance: a case study of the 2010 Liberal Express tour

This Major Research Paper explores the value of face-to-face communication in a digital age by examining the effect of face-to-face communication on media coverage. The author outlines the theoretical components of agenda-setting theory, presentation theory, and invitational rhetoric to illustrate the process by which individuals or groups compete to gain attention and power, and the role that face-to-face communication can play to persuade. This theory is examined with a political case study of the Liberal Party of Canada’s cross-Canada bus tour in July and August of 2010. The author provides a discourse analysis of newspaper editorials published in Ontario, Canada before and after then-Party Leader Michael Ignatieff visited. The author observes that the tone of media coverage is more favourable after face-to-face communication with citizens and journalists took place, suggesting that face-to-face communication is an effective tool for politicians in a digital age.

Toward an Invitational Andragogy: Articulating a Teaching Philosophy for the Andragogic Classroom

Students older than 25 years are a growing population on our campuses. However, separating these students and labeling them as “nontraditional” further isolates them from campuses that are already geared toward younger learners. This reflective essay explains the need for a philosophy of invitational andragogy—a classroom approach rooted in invitational rhetoric (S. Foss & Griffin, 1995) and Knowles’s assumptions about older learners (1980, 1984). While inviting transformation is important in all classrooms, it is especially important for older learners who often feel separated from the campus at large. To explain how an invitational approach to the andragogic classroom can be achieved, we identify opportunities to apply the strategic prongs of invitational rhetoric: (a) offering perspectives and (b) creating external conditions that promote safety, value, and freedom.