. . . . "Transforming appearance into rhetorical argument rhetorical criticism of public speeches of Barbara Jordan, Lucy Parsons, and Angela Y. Davis" . "The appearance of a speaker has been largely ignored within the field of rhetoric even though visual characteristics can and do prevent otherwise articulate speakers from effectively addressing audiences. In the multicultural world in which we live, however, it cannot be the case that discourse is powerful only for those born looking a certain way. Through an understanding of the way in which their appearance functions rhetorically, speakers can discursively overcome obstacles presented by their visual identity."@en . . . "Transforming appearance into rhetorical argument Rhetorical criticism of public speeches of Barbara Jordan, Lucy Parsons, and Angela Y. Davis"@en . "Through the analysis of this collection of texts, this study concludes that it is possible for a speaker to respond rhetorically to appearance-based obstacles. This dissertation adds to the scholarship of rhetorical theory and criticism by developing a theory for future speakers to rhetorically overcome constraints related to physical appearance."@en . . . "This study engages in close textual analysis of speeches through which three women of color successfully overcame obstacles presented by their race and gender. The analyzed texts include, Barbara Jordan's: \"1976 Democratic Convention Keynote Address\" at the Democratic convention (1976); Lucy Parsons' \"I Am an Anarchist\" (1886) and \"The Red Flag\" (1886); and Angela Y. Davis' \"Opening Defense Statement\" (1972). Each speaker successfully used the discursive strategy in markedly different ways. Their different approaches were based on their rhetorical situation as much as on the ethos they intended to create."@en . "Transforming appearance into rhetorical argument : rhetorical criticism of public speeches of Barbara Jordan, Lucy Parsons, and Angela Y. Davis"@en . . . . . "I hypothesize that while a speaker's visual identity may be an inartistic proof, the interpretation of that appearance is an artistic proof. Because a speaker's appearance is a visual text, it generates enthymemes. Enthymemes that may have an adverse effect on a speaker can be discursively blocked and replaced by the creation of alternative enthymemes premised on the speaker's appearance. I refer to this rhetorical approach as the \"discursive strategy.\" Contrary to the nondiscursive strategies of separatism, anonymity, and physical transformation, the discursive approach allows a speaker to speak from within her marked body by directing the audience's interpretation of her appearance."@en .