Word  [main thinkers] 1. The Definition of the Word (source)* 2. The Secondary Definition of the Word (source - definitions are usually accessible alphabetically in the dictionary or glossary) (see other words)

Contributors: (if applicable - provides philosophers/educators/rhetoricians whose work is concerned or centers on with the word defined)

Bibliography: (if applicable - provides relevant readings with respect to the word defined)

Acculturation  [Cultural Studies] A social situation where the minority accepts dominant culture but still experiences segregation and/or discrimination (Merriam-Webster)

Act [Kenneth Burke] a word describing what took place in thought or deed or action (see Pentad)

African-American Rhetoric or Black Rhetorics 1. School of rhetorical thought concerned with rhetorical techniques and messages originating from African-American language use and African-American communities/cultures

Agent [Kenneth Burke] Describes who performed or perpetrated the act (see Pentad)

Agency [Kenneth Burke] Means by which the act was accomplished (see Pentad)

American Indian Rhetoric Studies the work and language of American Indians, from the oral traditions of tribal culture to the modern mainstream contributions of Native Americans (Enos)

Appeals [Aristotle] Methods for persuading an audience. (See classical rhetoric, ethos, pathos and logos).

A Priori 1. Characterizing the kind of reasoning deducing consequences from definitions or principles regarded as self-evident; deductive; designating that which can be known by reason alone and not through experience 2. Presumptive; presumptively; without examination

Arabic Rhetoric Studies the translation of Greek philosophical texts into Arabic as well as the commentaries written by medieval Muslim philosophers and how this constitutes a considerable contribution to the rhetorical and philosophical tradition in the west (Enos)

Archetype The original pattern of which all things of the same species are representations or copies; original ideas, model or type (Merriam-Webster)

Artifact 1. A product of human workmanship 2. A sample or representation of a community or culture (Merriam-Webster) 3. A sample of writing or other form of discourse.

Assimilation [Cultural Studies] 1. A social situation where the dominant culture accepts the minority 2. A situation where minorities are forced into the dominant culture

Autonomous 1. Independent in government; self-governing; without outside control 2.
Existing independently (Merriam-Webster)

Autonomy 1. A self-governing state 2. Quality or state of being autonomous.  (Merriam-Webster)

Axiology 1. The philosophical study of goodness, or value, in the widest
sense of these terms. Its significance lies (1) in the considerable expansion that it has given to the meaning of the term value and (2) in the unification that it has provided for the study of a variety of questions--economic, moral, aesthetic, and even logical--that had often been considered in relative isolation. (www.eb.com)

Axiom 1. A statement of self-evident truth; thus, the statement that the whole is greater than any of its parts is an axiom 2. An established principle that is universally received/accepted (Merriam-Webster)

Axiomatic Of, pertaining to, or having the nature of an axiom; self-evident (Merriam-Webster)

Backing [Stephen Toulmin] evidence or support in a Toulminian argument

Basic Writing Studies [Mina Shaughnessy] 1. Field in composition studies focusing on the practice, theory, and pedagogy of teaching developmental or remedial writing and reading.

Binary Opposition When two opposite notions are argued; in a state of divergence between two natural or artificial concepts, notions, etc.

Claim [Stephen Toulmin] 1. Thesis statement or proposition 2. Statement made to contend in an argument with two sides (for or against)

Classical Rhetoric The beginnings of the discipline of rhetoric as they are discovered through the writings of the Greek and Roman Civilization

Code 1. Any system of signals used for sending messages (Crystal) 2. A language, or variety of languages (Crystal)

Codify 1. To reduce to a code, as laws; to systematize; classify (Merriam-Webster) 2. To provide a systematic account of a language (especially of its grammar and vocabulary).

Cognitivism or Cognitive Rhetoric 1. Field in composition studies focusing on cognitive processes at work in writing, reading and learning development. 2. Of or relating to cognition or cognitive psychology.

Colonialism [Cultural Studies] pertaining to the idea that other cultures or communities may be assimilated by the dominant culture

Computers and Composition Field in composition studies focusing on the integration of technology (specifically computers) and writing

Computers and Writing (see Computers and Composition)

Conclusive Belonging to a close or termination; specifically, putting an end to debate or question; decisive; final (Merriam-Webster)

Context The part of a discourse in which a word or passage occurs and which helps to explain the meaning of the word or passage (Merriam Webster)

Contextualize or Contextualization 1. To derive or deduce from the context of an idea or written work 2. To investigate the author, audience and purpose of a written or verbal work

Contextualize or Contextualization 1. To derive or deduce from the context of an idea or written work 2. To investigate the author, audience and purpose of a written or verbal work

Contact Zone Pedagogy or Contact Zone Studies  [Mary Louise Pratt] 1. Field in composition studies and rhetoric focusing on contact zones and their contributions to multicultural learning 2. Focusing on the interaction of minorities with the dominant culture 3. Focusing on dominant cultures interaction with minority instructors and students 

Counterculture Group with behavior contrary to the dominant culture

Cultural Studies 1. Broad field of inquire examining culture (culture in terms of knowledge, art, belief, morals, law, customs, writing practices, reading practices, other capabilities and habits acquired by a member of society) (Sardar and Van Loon) 2. The interdisciplinary examination of cultural texts and their effects in forming consciousness within economic and political contexts (Enos)

Cyberpunk [Postmodernism] 1. Counterculture, which unifies extreme leftist, anti-authoritarian, and rebellious views with technology 2. A movement that advocates using technology or the merger of technology and humanity to fulfill ones own desires

Cyberspace Refers to the virtual world of the Internet or World Wide Web

Cyborg [Postmodernism] 1. The merger of human components (e.g. the brain, the body, thought) with technology 2. A movement that fosters merger of technology and human beings

Data [Stephen Toulmin] Empirical evidence or facts in a Toulminian argument

Deconstruction [Jacques Derrida] 1. The act of naming the processes within language that produce a fundamental "undecidability" of meaning, an undecidability that often undermines the intention of the speaker or writer  (Palmer) 2. The name of the method of reading texts, which reveals undecidability [and the nature of ambiguous qualities of a text] (Palmer)

Deduction Reasoning from the general to the particular, or from the universal to the individual

Determinism The metaphysical view that necessity rules and that freedom is an illusion. (Palmer)

Developmental Writing (see Basic Writing)

Diachronic An analysis, which concentrates on the historical development of the object of analysis

Dialectic [Plato, Marx, Hegel] A belief that history progresses by resolving the contradictions between the opposing forces that make up any historical period (theses ad antitheses) through revolutionary action (a syntheses) (Palmer) 2. A scientific methodology in which socio-historical facts are analyzed in terms of the relationships of opposition to and dependency upon each other (Palmer) 3. A process of seeking truth through questioning (Covino/Jolliffe) 4. A cooperative exchange between two speakers, beginning with a definition of terms and ending with a synthesis that approaches philosophic, universal understanding (Covino/Jolliffe)

Différance [Jacques Derrida] Designates the dual fact that (a) meaning is derived from differences, not sameness, and (b) meaning is never fully present but is always deferred, postponed (Palmer)

Discourse 1. Act, power, or faculty of thinking consecutively and logically; reasoning power 2. Coherent reflection or thought 3. Formal or orderly communication of thought in speech or writing (Merriam-Webster)

Discursive 1. Moving from topic to topic without order; rambling 2. Proceeding coherently from topic to topic 3. Marked by analytical reasoning (Merriam Webster)

Discursive Analysis is an analysis, which exposes structures of power and knowledge and locates a discourse within historical, cultural and social relations (Sardar and Van Loon)

Displacement [Freud] A mode of primary unconscious thought or emotion in which the meaning or feeling about one image, word, or idea is transferred onto another one (see Metonymy) (Palmer)

Egalitarianism 1. Asserting or promoting the views that men are equal, esp. politically or socially (Merriam-Webster)

Empiricism The theory according to which all knowledge derives from "experience" where "experience" is explicated in terms of sense-data; therefore, the view that all knowledge can be traced to direct observation. (See Logical Empiricism) (Palmer)

Enthymeme [Aristotle] A partial syllogism where the rhetor delivering the structure presupposes that the audience will supply the missing part - the result should be cooperative understanding in which the audience is persuaded to the truth of the structure by virtue of having participated in making it fully meaningful. (See Classical Rhetoric) (Covino/Jolliffe)

Épistéme 1. Pertaining to "knowledge" 2. Designating the whole of the system that organizes information and authorizes dispensation and control of "knowledge" during different historical periods. (Palmer)

Epistemology The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge (www.eb.com)

Essence [Poststructuralism] That characteristic (or set of characteristics) that an object has in common with similar objects and which allows members of the class of objects to be defined (Palmer)

Essentialism The metaphysical view that in reality there exists not only individual objects but also essences (see Essence)  (Palmer)

Ethnography [Anthropology] One of several methods that is used to research members or groups of a specific culture or community (Bishop)

Ethos [Aristotle] One of the three means of persuasion Aristotle describes; refers to the perceived trustworthiness, creditability, and reliability of a communicator (Lay, et al.) (See Classical Rhetoric, Appeals)

Existentialism [Soren Kierkegaard, Jean Paul Sartre, Fredric Nietzsche] The philosophical position according to which "existence precedes essence"; this view entails the assertion that there is no such thing as "human nature," if that phrase is meant to designate characteristics that determine our behavior; the determinant of our behavior is freedom or exercising the power of choice

Expressivism or Expressionistic Rhetoric or Expressivist Rhetoric Field in composition studies focusing on the individuals thoughts and thought processes as a primary component of writing   

Feminism Theory or Feminism Field in composition studies and rhetoric focusing on the condition, representation, differences and thoughts of women 2.  A movement looking for gender inequality 3. A theory of criticism looking at the levels of production of texts, structure and language of texts, and reading/critical practices in order to find gender inequality

Functionalism 1. Any doctrine or practice that lays stress upon function, use, or adaptation (Merriam-Webster) 2. A belief that includes the notions that inequality is inevitable and desirable, positions in society are ranked by order of importance, and important positions in society require more training and should receive more rewards 

Gender 1. Sex, either Male or Female (Merriam-Webster) 2. An area of composition studies focusing on issues between Male and Female interactions in writing, literary interpretation and academic relationships

Generative Rhetoric [Francis Christensen] Instructional strategy for generating ideas in sentences and paragraphs by using structures to teach imitation.

Genre  A Category of document in literature or academic writing characterized by a particular style, form and content (e.g. a novel, a lab report, or cookbook) (Lay, et al.)

Hegemonic Containing characteristics of hegemony

Hegemony [Cultural Studies] Preponderant influence or authority over others; domination

Hypertext Nonlinear digital documentation that can be accessed online or over the internet; refers to many types of programming languages used to convey messages digitally (e.g., html, xml, html2, php, etc.).

Heuristic 1. Serving to discover or to simulate investigation; -of methods of demonstration which tend to lead a person to investigate further by himself (Merriam-Webster) 2. Strategic thinking for rhetorical inquiry

Hermeneutics The study of the methodological principles of interpretation (Merriam Webster)

Hermeneutical Containing or referring to the characteristics of hermaneutics

Heterogeneity In the state of or having the quality of being different; having unlike qualities 

Hierarchy 1.Rank or order 2. A series of objects divided or classified in ranks or orders; a hierarchical arrangement (Merriam-Webster)

Historicism Of or referring to the study of texts in terms of historic significance

Inclusive 1. Including or tending to include 2. Comprehending the stated limit or extremes (Merriam-Webster)

Induction The act or process of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal

Intertextuality [Julia Kristeva] Term used to denote the interdependence of literary texts, the interdepended of any one literary text with all those that have existed before it (Cuddon)

Lexical  Of, pertaining to  or connected with words, or the vocabulary of a language, as distinguished from its grammar or construction.

Linear Pertaining to the idea the an object or concept has a definite beginning and end by following a straight line or direct sequence 

Literacy 1. Pertaining to the ability to read and write, especially the ability to read.  2. Referring to reading ability and development

Logical Empiricism (see Empiricism)

Logical Positivism Philosophical doctrine, according to which scientific knowledge is the only kind of factual knowledge and all traditional metaphysical doctrines are to be rejected as meaningless (www.eb.com)

Logocentrism [Jacques Derrida] Concept whereby the spoken word is prioritized over the written word

Logos [Aristotle, Classical Rhetoric] 1. One of the three means of persuasion described by Aristotle; refers to the appeal to the evidence and the listener's or readers reasoning process (Lay, et al.) 2. Use of definition, description, syllogistic logic, presentation of data or other logical form to persuade or inform   (see Appeals, Classical Rhetoric)

Marxism [Karl Marx, Fredric Engels] Belief or theory that the way people think and behave in society is determined by basic economic factors (Moon)

Matrices  or Matrix 1. The womb 2. A place or enveloping elements within which something originates, takes form, or develops (Merriam-Webster)

Metadiscourse 1. Designates a particular function of language, one that establishes interpersonal bonds and sustains intertextual contact; more specifically, subsumes various kinds of linguistic markers that speakers or writers use to convey their expressive and attitudinal, rather than purely propositional meanings. (Enos) 2. Discourse about discourse. 3. Discourse within discourse.

Metaphysics 1. The philosophical study whose objective is to determine the real nature
of things--to determine the meaning, structure, and principles of
whatever is insofar as it is (www.eb.com)  2. Relating to external nature 3. Division of philosophy which includes ontology, or the science of being, and cosmology, or the science of the fundamental causes and processes in things; in a looser sense, all of the more abstruse philosophical disciplines; in a narrower sense, ontology alone. (Merriam-Webster)

Metaphysical 1. Pertaining to metaphysics; having or pertaining to real being and essential nature of reality

Metonymy 1. Figure of speech in which an object is named by using the part for the whole (e.g. the Crowns of Europe).  2. Using something tangentially associated with the object to name the object (e.g. Joe likes the bottle too much). 

Monologic [Mikhail Bakhtin] Voices of the characters of a story are totally governed by the author with no distinction

Modernism/Modernity Academic renaissance and movement that began in the closing years of the 19th century and continued into the early years of the 20th century

Modern Rhetoric Surge of rhetoric development from the "last third of the century" that contains new material spawned from the traditional values of rhetoric and a borrowing of ideology and theory from new developments in philosophy

Module Individual learning unit or chapter

Multiculturalism Educational movement towards creating a diverse learning environment

Narrative or Personal Narrative A form of discourse, which focuses on aspects of story telling with an emphasis placed on the first person (I, Me)

Ontogeny Developmental analysis f the history of an individual; in contrast with phylogeny) (Palmer)

Ontology Theory or study of being, as such; i.e., of the basic characteristics
of all reality (www.eb.com)

Orality [Walter Ong, Cognitivists] Concern in composition studies relating to speech and spoken forms of discourse

Paradigm 1. Model or pattern (Merriam-Webster) 2. A repeated structure for accomplishing tasks

Paradigmatic 1. Exemplary; typical 2. Of or pertaining to paradigms 3. a term in linguistics designating the "vertical" feature of language whereby one term in a sentence can be meaningfully replaced by a related term (e.g. "Dog" for "Animal") (in contrast with Syntagmatic) (Palmer)

Pathos [Aristotle] One of three means of persuasion described by Aristotle; refers to the appeal a communicator makes to the most basic and deeply held values and beliefs of the audience (Lay) (see Appeals, Classical Rhetoric)

Pedagogy The art, practice or profession of teaching; especially, systematized learning or instruction concerning principles and methods of teaching (Merriam-Webster)

Pentad [Burke] a method developed by Kenneth Burke to analyze the inherent drama of human relations or what he labels Dramatism (Enos)

Phenomenology [Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger] 1. A method of philosophical inquiry, which lays stress on the perceiver's vital and central role in determining meaning. (Cuddon) 2. An exploration of the unique personality behind a piece of discourse. 

Phylogeny Developmental analysis of a biologically related group; a phylum, a species, a sub-species (in contrast to Ontogeny) (Palmer)

Plurialism When two groups remain distinct but equal

Portfolio or Writing Portfolio 1. Collection of discourse 2. Process-based display of writing, usually demonstrating a visible progress from start to finish (e.g. prewriting to final drafts)

Positivism The belief that the understanding of the world should be based on science or scientific knowledge (see Logical Positivism)

Post Colonialism Movement against and examining the colonizing forces in literature, cultural studies and education

Post-Marxist A Movement which questions the reductive, and anti-democratic nature of Marxism, and of any political movement which explains changes in history in terms of the role of a specific class or privileged agency (Lechte)

Postmodernism or Post Modernism Movement that refers to the changes which have taken place (and are taking place) since Modernism

Poststructuralism or Post Structuralism Movement in the attempt to advance and correct the implications and shortcomings of structuralism and its basis in the linguistic theory of Ferdinand de Saussure.

Pragmatic (see Pragmatism)

Pragmatism A philosophy based on the principle that the usefulness, workability, and practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals are the criteria of their merit

Praxis Practice and theory merged into action

Purpose [Kenneth Burke] Describes the "why" behind the act (see Pentad)

Qualifier [Stephen Toulmin] an adverb used to modify a claim in order to clarify the claim and protect the creditability of the author (e.g. typically, usually, for the most part, some, several, few, sometimes, many)

Quantitative or Quantitative Research Concerned with the measurement of phenomena, especially with respect to its quantity (tends to be more or less objective in nature) – includes surveying and/or mathematical computation

Queer Theory [Max Weber] a branch of cultural studies focusing on the interaction or opposition of heterosexual and homosexual relationships in discourse and culture

Rationalism The view that (a) everything in reality is logically consistent with everything else in reality, and the view (b) that this logical consistency can be grasped by the human mind, because (c) the human mind reflects the logical structure of reality (Palmer)

Realism The view that there is an objective reality to which human subjectivity has access (Palmer)

Recursive Of, relating to, or constituting a procedure or idea that can repeat itself
Indefinitely (Merriam-Webster)

Refutation/Rebuttal [Stephen Toulmin] Structure in Toulminian argument, which discredits the opposition's counter-arguments by proving their logic faulty, their support weak, or their warrants invalid

Relativism The denial of absolute truths or absolute facts, and the claim that the truths and facts achieve their "truthfulness" or "factualness" only relative to other "truths" or "facts" which are themselves relative to yet other "truths" or "facts" (Palmer)

Reflexive Denoting an action that is directed back upon the agent, actor, or subject.

Rhetoric 1. The art of expressive speech or of discourse 2. The art of writing well in prose 3. Skillful or artistic use of speech; artificial elegance of language.  (Merriam-Webster)

Scene [Kenneth Burke] The background of the act 2. The situation in which the act occurs (see Pentad)

Semiology or Semiotics The study of "signs," encompassing linguistics, but also dealing with other systems of signs, such as gestures, dress codes, and rules of conduct (Palmer)

Scheme [Edward Corbett, Classical Rhetoric] Major division of the general category of figurative language, which involves a deviation from the ordinary pattern and arrangement of words (Covino/Jolliffe)

Sign [Ferdinand de Saussure] 1. Result of a structural relationship between the signifier and the signified (Enos) 2. the unit of meaning composed of the combination of a "signifer" and a "signified" (Palmer) (see Structuralism, Semiotics)

Signifed [Ferdinand de Saussure] 1. The concept referred to (Enos) 2. Idea or concept designated by a "signifier" and combing with it to create a "sign" (Palmer) 3. Mental association of a "sign" (Sardar and Van Loon) (see Structuralism, Semiotics)

Signifier [Ferdinand de Saussure] 1. Sound image or its graphic counterpart (Enos) 2. the audio-image (sound) or visual image that is associated by contention with a "signified" to create a "sign" (Palmer) 3. The physical form of a "sign" (Sardar and Van Loon) (see Structuralism, Semiotics)

Signifying/Signifyin' [African-American Rhetoric] Ritualized insult, a verbal put down, in which the speaker needles his audience or some member of the audience either to initiate verbal ‘war’ or to make a point hit home.

Simulacra or Simulacrum [Jean Baudrillard/Postmodernism] Copies of real objects or events so similar and so real that the original is no longer possesses importance 

Social Epistemic Rhetorics or Social Constructionism [David Bartholomae, Patricia Bizzell, Greg Myers, James Berlin] Ideology and field in composition studies negating the thoughts of the individual in favor of social construction of written texts

Solipsism The view that "My world is the world," or more technically, that one only has access to the contents of one's own mind, hence one has no good reason to believe in the existence of anything other than one's own mind (Palmer)

Structuralism [Ferdinand de Saussure, Claude Levi-Strauss] Theory of social reality that applies the principles of linguistics to all social phenomena, such that social meaning is reducible to a system of oppositional relationships ("structures") which define "sameness" and "otherness" (Palmer)

Style Concern of rhetoric and composition that focuses on the selection and conveyance of words and sentences

Subculture Group with a distinctive lifestyle within a society

Syllogism [Aristotle] Logical analysis of a formal argument, consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and the conclusion (see Classical Rhetoric)

Syntagmatic  Term in linguistics designating that "horizontal" feature of language whereby a sequence of parts of speech can be developed into meaningful phrases (e.g. the sequence: subject-conjugated verb-object that allows the sentences, "Mary sues her lawyer," and "Sue marries her lawyer" to be meaningful (contrast to Paradigmatic) (Palmer)

Taxonomy Classification of objects or entities according to their relationship to each other

Technical Writing A subgenre of technical communication, which focuses making scientific and technical discourse accessible to the lay audience.

Terministic Screen [Kenneth Burke] The terms or vocabulary used as a result of occupations, which directs attention to particular aspects of reality rather than others

Tokenism The practice or belief of having one person of a particular ethnicity or culture serve as a sample or representative of his/her entire population

Toulminian Argument or Toulmin's Layout of Argument [Stephen Toulmin] Method for analyzing and creating arguments 

Trope [Edward Corbett, Classical Rhetoric] A Major division of figurative language which involves a deviation from the ordinary and principal signification of a word (Covino/Jolliffe)

Universality That quality in a work of art (or writing) which enables the work to transcend the limits of the particular situation, place, time, person and incident in such a way that it may be of interest, pleasure and profit (in the non-commercial sense) to all people at any time in any place (Cuddon)

Voice Of or pertaining to the idea of oral characteristics of voice (use of words, sentences, length and duration of ideas, etc.) can be found in written form.

Usability Of or pertaining to the idea of how easily or accurate a document can be used (Lay)

Warrant [Stephen Toulmin] Structure in a Toulminian argument connecting the claim and the support, which is derived from our cultural experiences and personal observations about the subject of an argument

Writing Assessment Field in composition studies focusing on the idea of assessing students for placement in differing levels of writing programs (basic, intermediate, advanced)

Writing Process 1. Of or pertaining to how a writer composes a piece of discourse 2. A process of writing usually involving the steps of prewriting, drafting, revision, and publishing.