Toward a Rhetoric of Insult

by Thomas Conley

University of Chicago Press, 2010
Cloth: 978-0-226-11477-4 | Paper: 978-0-226-11478-1 | Electronic: 978-0-226-11479-8
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226114798.001.0001

AVAILABLE FROM

University of Chicago Press (cloth, paper, ebook)
Barnes & Noble Nook
Chegg Inc
Copia Interactive
DeGruyter Multi-User Ebook Program
Google Play
University Press Scholarship Online (UPSO)

ABOUT THIS BOOKAUTHOR BIOGRAPHYREVIEWSTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

From high school cafeterias to the floor of Congress, insult is a truly universal and ubiquitous cultural practice with a long and earthy history. And yet, this most human of human behaviors has rarely been the subject of organized and comprehensive attention—until Toward a Rhetoric of Insult. Viewed through the lens of the study of rhetoric, insult, Thomas M. Conley argues, is revealed as at once antisocial and crucial for human relations, both divisive and unifying.

Explaining how this works and what exactly makes up a rhetoric of insult prompts Conley to range across the vast and splendidly colorful history of offense. Taking in Monty Python, Shakespeare, Eminem, Cicero, Henry Ford, and the Latin poet Martial, Conley breaks down various types of insults, examines the importance of audience, and explores the benign side of abuse. In doing so, Conley initiates readers into the world of insult appreciation, enabling us to regard insults not solely as means of expressing enmity or disdain, but as fascinating aspects of human interaction.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Thomas M. Conley is professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author of Rhetoric in the European Tradition, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

REVIEWS

“This is an original work well crafted into flowing continuous exposition. Readers will gladly seize on this fresh contribution and find here a stimulating and heartening extended essay leading through an entertaining, virtuoso meditation to a typically constructive proposal. Conley, who holds a distinguished record of thoughtful and humane writing, has charmed me into merriment with this thoroughly engaging book.”--John Henderson, University of Cambridge

— John Henderson

“In Toward a Rhetoric of Insult we have a very good topic discussed by an intelligent and informed author. The result is a well-written and endlessly interesting book.”

— Ted Cohen, University of Chicago

"Students will find this a particularly interesting and accessible study of an enduringly interesting, relevant aspect of rhetoric and communication."

— Choice

Preface

Chapter 1: The Range of Insult

Terms Of Abuse: The Lexical Approach

Beyond The Lexicon

Nonverbal “Yerms”

The Problem Of The Intrinsic

Sex, Lies, And Rhetorical Community

All Those Nauseous Epigrams Of Martial

The Domestication Of Sir John Falstaff

“I Shall Taunt You A Second Time-a!”: Monty Python

Just Add A Dash Of Theology

Lines And Storylines

Doing The Dozens

Mind Your Manners

Insults As “Rhetoric”

The Paradox Of Insult

The Economics Of Shame

Maintaining vs. Interrogating Hierarchies

Enforcing “Civility”

The Aesthetic Angle

A Parting Shot

Notes for Further Reading

Index