SELECT AN EDITION:
A First Look at Communication Theory Reveal main menu
The screen on this device is not wide enough to display Theory Resources. Try rotating the device to landscape orientation to see if more options become available.
Resources available to all users:
- Text Comparison—theories covered in A First Look and ten other textbooks
- Theory Overview—abstract of each chapter
- Self-Help Quizzes—for student preparation
- Chapter Outlines
- Key Names—important names and terms in each chapter
- Conversation Videos—interviews with theorists
- Application Logs—student application of theories
- Essay Questions—for student prepatation
- Suggested Movie Clips—tie-in movie scenese to theories
- Links—web resources related to each chapter
- Primary Sources—for each theory with full chapter coverage
- Further Resources—bibliographic and other suggestions
- Changes—for each theory, since the previous edition
- Theory Archive—PDF copies from the last edition in which a theory appeared
Resources available only to registered instructors who are logged in:
- Discussion Suggestions
- Exercises & Activities
- PowerPoint® presentations you can use
- Short Answer Quizzes—suggested questions and answers
Information for Instructors. Read more
Resources
by Type
Instructors can get additional
resources. Read more
TEXT COMPARISON
KEY NAMES
New to Theory Resources?
Find out more in this
short video overview (3:01).
CHANGE TO View by Theory
Theory Key Names
10th Edition
10th Edition
Annotated list of scholars and terms, from the Instructors Manual and margin notes in the text
List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details
Chapter 23—Dramatism
- Kenneth Burke
- Perhaps the most important twentieth-century rhetorician, this critic is the founder of dramatism.
- Marie Hochmuth Nichols
- A University of Illinois rhetorician who popularized Burke’s dramatistic methodology within the speech communication field.
- Critic
- Rhetorical scholar who carefully analyzes the language of speakers and authors.
- Realm of motion
- Things moving according to cause/effect laws without purpose.
- Symbolic action
- Words as intentional action, giving life to particular motives and goals.
- Dramatism
- A technique of analysis of language and thought as modes of action rather than as means of conveying information.
- Guilt
- Burke’s catch-all term for tension, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, disgust, and other noxious feelings inherent in human symbol-using activity.
- Perspective by incongruity
- Providing shocking insight by linking two dissonant words.
- Scapegoat
- Someone or something blamed for guilt.
- God term
- The word a speaker uses to which all other positive words are subservient.
- Devil term
- The word a speaker uses that sums up all that is regarded as bad, wrong, or evil.
- Mortification
- Confession of guilt and request for forgiveness
- Victimage
- Naming an external enemy as the source of all personal or public ills.
- Identification
- The common ground between speaker and audience; consubstantiation.
- Dramatistic pentad
- A tool critics can use to discern the motives of a speaker by labeling five key elements of the drama—act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose.
- Act
- The dramatistic term for what was done. Texts that emphasize act suggest realism.
- Scene
- The dramatistic term for the context for the act. Texts that emphasize scene downplay free will and reflect an attitude of situational determinism.
- Agent
- The dramatistic term for the person or kind of person who performs the act. Texts that emphasize agent feature idealism.
- Agency
- The dramatistic term for the means the agent used to do the deed. Texts that emphasize agency demonstrate pragmatism.
- Purpose
- The dramatistic term for the stated or implied goal of an act. Texts that emphasize purpose suggest the concerns of mysticism.
- Ratio
- The relative importance of any two terms of the pentad as determined by their relationship.
You can access the Key Names for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
Resources
by Type
Instructors can get
additional resources.
Read more
KEY NAMES
New to Theory
Resources?
Find out more
in this short
video overview
(3:01).
CHANGE TO View by Theory
Theory Key Names
10th Edition
10th Edition
Annotated list of scholars and terms, from the Instructors Manual and margin notes in the text
List mode: Normal (click on theory name to show detail) | Show All details | Clear details
Chapter 23—Dramatism
- Kenneth Burke
- Perhaps the most important twentieth-century rhetorician, this critic is the founder of dramatism.
- Marie Hochmuth Nichols
- A University of Illinois rhetorician who popularized Burke’s dramatistic methodology within the speech communication field.
- Critic
- Rhetorical scholar who carefully analyzes the language of speakers and authors.
- Realm of motion
- Things moving according to cause/effect laws without purpose.
- Symbolic action
- Words as intentional action, giving life to particular motives and goals.
- Dramatism
- A technique of analysis of language and thought as modes of action rather than as means of conveying information.
- Guilt
- Burke’s catch-all term for tension, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, disgust, and other noxious feelings inherent in human symbol-using activity.
- Perspective by incongruity
- Providing shocking insight by linking two dissonant words.
- Scapegoat
- Someone or something blamed for guilt.
- God term
- The word a speaker uses to which all other positive words are subservient.
- Devil term
- The word a speaker uses that sums up all that is regarded as bad, wrong, or evil.
- Mortification
- Confession of guilt and request for forgiveness
- Victimage
- Naming an external enemy as the source of all personal or public ills.
- Identification
- The common ground between speaker and audience; consubstantiation.
- Dramatistic pentad
- A tool critics can use to discern the motives of a speaker by labeling five key elements of the drama—act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose.
- Act
- The dramatistic term for what was done. Texts that emphasize act suggest realism.
- Scene
- The dramatistic term for the context for the act. Texts that emphasize scene downplay free will and reflect an attitude of situational determinism.
- Agent
- The dramatistic term for the person or kind of person who performs the act. Texts that emphasize agent feature idealism.
- Agency
- The dramatistic term for the means the agent used to do the deed. Texts that emphasize agency demonstrate pragmatism.
- Purpose
- The dramatistic term for the stated or implied goal of an act. Texts that emphasize purpose suggest the concerns of mysticism.
- Ratio
- The relative importance of any two terms of the pentad as determined by their relationship.
You can access the Key Names for a particular chapter in several ways:
- Switch to View by Theory, then select the desired theory/chapter from the drop-down list at the top of the page. Look in the list of available resources.
- To quickly find a theory by chapter number, use the Table of Contents and link from there. It will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
- You can also use the Theory List, which will take you directly to the theory with available options highlighted.
Compare Comm Theory Texts
Viewing Hints & Troubleshooting
Changes in the 10th Edition
Website Changes
Copyright © Em Griffin 2025 | Web design by Graphic Impact