About

Work in SONIC RHETORICS explores the persuasive and constitutive power of sound. The art and influence of sonic language (as oratory) was the primary interest of the ancients, but contemporary rhetorical study and pedagogy has focused primarily on alphabetic-textual artifacts and production. Recently, there has been a shift toward a more expansive view of rhetoric — one that includes a much broader conception of discourse, including visual, aural, and electronic/new media artifacts. My work, including the short posts here, seeks to contribute to that shift.

I’m Jonathan Stone, a PhD candidate in the Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I study the cultural, historical, and rhetorical influence of music and sound. My dissertation is focused on the rhetoricity of American music in the 1930s.