Techniques of Close Reading

Second Edition

Barry Brummett - The University of Texas at Austin, USA

May 2018 | 152 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

Techniques of Close Reading, Second Edition helps students gain a deeper understanding of what texts may be saying, whether they are written, oral, visual, or mediated. Renowned scholar and professor Barry Brummett explains and explores the various ways to "read" messages (such as speeches, cartoons, or magazine ads), teaching students how to see deeper levels of meaning and to share those insights with others. Students learn techniques for discovering form, rhetorical tropes, argument, and ideologies within texts.

New to the Second Edition:

A new Chapter 6 includes a selection of techniques from each chapter to show students how different techniques may be used together when reading text.
A close reading of a group of ads from the insurance company, Liberty Mutual, offers students an opportunity to apply the techniques to recent texts.

Bundle Brummett’s texts and save!

We’ve made it easy for students to get Rhetoric in Popular Culture, Fifth Edition all in one convenient package at a student-friendly price. When bundled with the new edition of Techniques of Close Reading, students receive a 20% discount.

Use ISBN: 9781544341620

Available Formats

ISBN: 9781544305257	Paperback	Suggested Retail Price: $90.00	Bookstore Price: $72.00
ISBN: 9781544305233	Electronic Version	Suggested Retail Price: $75.40	Bookstore Price: $60.32

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Preface

Chapter 1. On Noticing What You See and Hear

Being a Reader, Being a Critic

Summary and Looking Ahead

Chapter 2. Theories, Methods, Techniques

Exploring New Territories: Thinking Deductively and Inductively

Starting From the Top, Deductively: Theories and Their Methods

Knowledge, Risk, and Ethics in Theories and Methods

Working With Theories and Methods

Halfway Down, Deductively: Methods and Techniques

Heading Back Up Again, Inductively: From Techniques to Theory

Summary and Looking Ahead

Chapter 3. Using Form for Close Reading

Narrative

Genre

Persona

Form and Politics

Summary and Looking Ahead

Chapter 4. Ideology and Argument

Four Questions to Ask About a Text

Putting Our Questions Together: A Brief Example

Three Examples for Close Reading

Summary and Looking Ahead

Chapter 5. Transformations in Texts: Seeing Beneath the Surface

Metaphor

Metonymy

Synecdoche

Irony

Summary and Looking Ahead

Chapter 6. Close Readings Using Multiple Techniques

The First Inauguration of Barack Obama in a Cartoon

A Group of Ads for Liberty Mutual

Chapter 7. Conclusion

References and Recommended Reading

Index

About the Author

Key features

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

A new Chapter 6 includes a selection of techniques from each chapter to show students how different techniques may be used together when reading text.
A close reading of a group of ads from the insurance company, Liberty Mutual, offers students an opportunity to apply the techniques to recent texts.

KEY FEATURES:

A unique focus on the act and techniques of criticism rather than on schools of thought, grand theories, and specific methods, helps students engage in the act of critical close reading in ways that are applicable to a wide range of methods, making the book an ideal companion to texts focused on specific methods.
Explanations of the relationships among the theory, methods, and techniques of rhetorical criticism help students learn the process of successfully reading the meaning of texts.
The ethics and risks of doing and reading rhetorical criticism is examined using a wide variety of examples, figures, and exercises taken from everyday life.