Coming to Terms

The Collected Works of Jane Blankenship

By (author) Jane Blankenship Foreword by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, University of Minnesota Contributions by Marie Rosenwasser, Don Paul Abbott, Eric Metcalf, Edward Murphy, Marlene Fine, Les Davis, Deborah Robson, Shelly James, Cindy White, Barbara Sweeney Edited by Janette Kenner Muir

Publication date:

23 December 2011

Length of book:

440 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

238x163mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739145685

Coming to Terms: The Collected Works of Jane Blankenship, an edited collection from Jane Blankenship and Janette Kenner Muir, is the story of one academic journey through self-discovery, intellectual development, and mentorship. It is a conversation that illustrates how, in Mary Catherine Bateson’s terms, one composes a life that has meaning and makes a significant difference in other lives as well. Jane Blankenship was an active member of the speech communication discipline, starting with her first job teaching in the Rhetoric and Composition program at Mount Holyoke College and finishing with the great distinction of Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As a noted rhetorical scholar in both criticism and theory, Jane Blankenship was a long-time leader within the National Communication Association (including one of a handful of women who served as president in the 20th Century), and an award winner of numerous teaching and scholarship awards. Throughout her academic career, Blankenship made important contributions to the understanding of language and form, specific literary critics such as Kenneth Burke and Samuel Coleridge, and the role of women in politics. Most importantly, she worked with and inspired a cadre of graduate students who continue to reflect her ideas and perspectives in their own work, particularly in the area of political communication. Through her writing and mentoring, she impacted and changed thousands of lives. Coming to Terms brings together some of the significant pieces that marked Jane Blankenship’s career and also shows the process wherein one makes choices in writing and publishing that underscore the interrelationship between scholarship and teaching—an important element throughout her academic life.

Foreword, by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell
Editor’s Note
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Coming to Terms
2. A Critic on Criticism
3. In the Presence of the Word (SCA Presidential Address)
Section One: Some Beginnings
4. Energy and Form
An Introduction
by Barbara Sweeney
The Energy of Form
by Jane Blankenship, with Barbara Sweeney
Toward a Developmental Model of Form: ABC’s Treatment
of the Reagan Inaugural and Iranian Hostage Release as Oxymoron
by Jane Blankenship
5. The Nature of Language
Burke and Coleridge Revisited
by Don Paul Abbott
Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Kenneth Burke
by Jane Blankenship, with Don Abbott
Magic and Mystery in the Works of Kenneth Burke
6. Developing Style
A Sense of Style
Influence of Mode, SubMode and Speaker, an excerpt
Style as Epistemic Stance: Abraham Lincoln's Early
Rhetorical Style
7. Metaphor and Naming
The Search for the 1972 Democratic Nomination: A Metaphorical Perspective
Naming and Name Calling as Acts of Definition: Political Campaigns and the 1988 Presidential Debates
Section Two: Creating and Expanding Burkean Frameworks
8. Exploring Burkean Terms
An Introduction and Reflections
by Marie Rosenwasser
Pivotal Terms in the Early Works of Kenneth Burke
by Jane Blankenship, with Edward Murphy and Marie Rosenwasser
9. Burke and the Ecological Frame
Introduction to “Kenneth Burke on Ecology”
by Eric Metcalf
Kenneth Burke on Ecology: A Synthesis

Pentadic Movements

Working with Jane Blankenship: The Transformation of Student to Scholar
by Marlene Fine
The 1980 Republican Primary Debates: The Transformation of Actor to Scene
by Jane Blankenship, with Marlene Fine and Les Davis
The Transformation of Actor to Scene: Some Strategic Grounds of the Reagan Legacy
By Jane Blankenship, with Janette Kenner Muir
Section 3: Identifying Women in Electoral Politics
11. A General Overview
The Sites and Sounds of Change: The Political Discourse of Women in Electoral Politics
A ‘Feminine Style’ in Women’s Political Discourse:
An Exploratory Essay
by Jane Blankenship, with Deborah Robson
12. Women Making a Difference
The People will Save Themselves: Helen Gahagan Douglas’
Jealousy for Democracy
by Jane Blankenship, with Shelly James
On Not Accepting “Apologies”
13. Transforming the Political Landscape
An Introduction to Coming to Terms
by Cindy White
On Coming to Terms with Terms: The 1984 Ferraro Campaign
Written with Cindy White
Our Candidates/Ourselves
Section 4: Composing an Academic Life
14. Inspiring Teachers
by Karl R. Wallace: The Giver of Good Reasons
The Song of the Open Road: Marie Hochmuth Nichols as Teacher
15. Moving Toward the Future
Communications in the Year 2,000: As Usual Some Questions about Means and Ends
Keeping the Faith: On Being a Teacher-Scholar in the 20th Century, Building an Academic Discipline
On Imaging the Future: The Secular Search for ‘Piety’
Written with Janette Kenner Muir
Afterword
Select Bibliography
About the Contributors
Index

“While a major motivation f or this volume is to honor Jane Blankenship’s career, it is not simply an archive of past work. Readers will find a book alive with essays on terms and naming that are foundational, relevant, and useful. Additionally, the book spotlights Blankenship’s enormous influence on the value of studying women in the context of contemporary politics. Her work ripples out among today's student and scholars.”