| Modern Occult Rhetoric: Mass Media and the Drama of Secrecy in the Twentieth Century (Albma Rhetoric Cult & Soc Crit) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joshua Gunn
Publisher: University Alabama Press
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1579970
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 376
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0817314660
Dewey Decimal Number: 130.14
EAN: 9780817314668
ASIN: 0817314660
Publication Date: July 24, 2005
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A broadly interdisciplinary study of the pervasive secrecy in America cultural, political, and religious discourse.
The occult has traditionally been understood as the study of secrets of the practice of mysticism or magic. This book broadens our understanding of the occult by treating it as a rhetorical phenomenon tied to language and symbols and more central to American culture than is commonly assumed.
Joshua Gunn approaches the occult as an idiom, examining the ways in which acts of textual criticism and interpretation are occultic in nature, as evident in practices as diverse as academic scholarship, Freemasonry, and television production. Gunn probes, for instance, the ways in which jargon employed by various social and professional groups creates barriers and fosters secrecy. From the theory wars of cultural studies to the Satanic Panic that swept the national mass media in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gunn shows how the paradox of a hidden, buried, or secret meaning that cannot be expressed in language appears time and time again in Western culture.
These recurrent patterns, Gunn argues, arise from a generalized, popular anxiety about language and its limitations. Ultimately, Modern Occult Rhetoric demonstrates the indissoluble relationship between language, secrecy, and publicity, and the centrality of suspicion in our daily lives.
Joshua Gunn is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently writing a book on the haunting of human speech in contemporary mass media technologies.
Book Description
The occult has traditionally been understood as the study of secrets of the practice of mysticism or magic. This book broadens our understanding of the occult by treating it as a rhetorical phenomenon tied to language and symbols and more central to American culture than is commonly assumed.
Joshua Gunn approaches the occult as an idiom, examining the ways in which acts of textual criticism and interpretation are occultic in nature, as evident in practices as diverse as academic scholarship, Freemasonry, and television production. Gunn probes, for instance, the ways in which jargon employed by various social and professional groups creates barriers and fosters secrecy. From the theory wars of cultural studies to the Satanic Panic that swept the national mass media in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gunn shows how the paradox of a hidden, buried, or secret meaning that cannot be expressed in language appears time and time again in Western culture.
These recurrent patterns, Gunn argues, arise from a generalized, popular anxiety about language and its limitations. Ultimately, Modern Occult Rhetoric demonstrates the indissoluble relationship between language, secrecy, and publicity, and the centrality of suspicion in our daily lives.
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| Customer Reviews:
An armchair theoretical discussion of magic October 23, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As someone who used to be an academic and is a magician, I thought I would pick this work up and see what Gunn had to offer, on the subject of the occult, from an academic perspective.
First let me tell you what he does right: He draws on some occult texts in his arguments and engages the material fairly well. He defines his terms and for the most part defends his arguments in a manner that is actually coherent and not overly reliant on academic jargon. He offers some useful insights on the textual end of occultism and the rhetorical devices used by occultists to establish authority. I particularly liked his treatment of Crowley's use of irony.
What he doesn't do: I find it odd that he focuses on intention and agency and yet doesn't explore how these concepts are used in occultism. I realize he is an academic, but intention is a fairly important word and rhetorical device in occultist writing. Also the texts he draws on, while occult, are dated. There is, as he points out a lot of work out there on the subject of magic, but while I think his decision to draw on some dated works was useful, I would have liked to have seen him draw on more recent works as wells. Also, occasionally he is guilty of being a little arrogant in how he engages his material. Finally, his epilogue provides a far too brief examination of the similarity of academic writing and occult writing. He makes a lot of assumptions about occult writing that can easily be applied to academic writing and communication as well.
Overall, I would recommend reading this book. Gunn has some interesting perspectives to offer, for both the academic and the magician.
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