Ideology, knowledge and text: Pulling at the knot in Ariadne's thread

Abstract

Contemporary controversies in rhetorical criticism cluster in three ostensibly separate areas: the ethical and political consequences of ideological or cultural criticism, the possibility and desirability of viewing rhetoric as an epistemic process, and the implications of broadening the purview of rhetoric beyond text to include cultural and personal performance. In each of these realms, current theory provides no conceptual room for reconciling oppositional positions. Proponents are left to agree to disagree‐a civil enough resolution within the discipline, but a sign that the current paradigm might have outlived its usefulness. This essay argues that contemporary critical vexations are not unrelated, but stem from a single theoretical source: a failure to consistently distinguish between culture‐bound rhetorical practice and the transcultural processes by which humans create and maintain rhetorical community.

Key words:

• rhetoric
• epistemic
• ideology
• performativity
• culture