Techniques of Close Reading

About the Book

Techniques of Close Reading is a brief, supplemental text that trains students in an ability to see what texts--be they written, oral, visual, or mediated--may be saying. Renown scholar and teacher Barry Brummett explains and explores the various ways to "read" messages (speeches, cartoons, magazine ads, etc.), teaching students the ability to see deeper levels of meaning and to share those insights with others.

Techniques of Close Reading differs from other books in rhetorical criticism, textual analysis, or critical thinking by:

- Focusing on the act and techniques of criticism rather than on schools of thought, grand theories, and specific methods, thus helping students to engage in the act of critical close reading in ways that are congenial to a wide range of methods (for that reason, it is highly adaptable to other texts currently in use that are focused on specific methods)

- Explaining the relationships among theory, methods, and techniques of rhetorical criticism

- Examining the ethics and risk of doing and reading rhetorical criticism via plenty of examples, figures, and exercises taken from everyday life

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. On Noticing What You See and Hear 2. Theories, Methods, Techniques 3. Using Form for Close Reading 4. Transformations in Texts: Seeing beneath the Surface 5. Ideology and Argument 6. Conclusion: A Close Reading Using Multiple Techniques

About the Author :
Barry Brummett is the Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Texas, Austin. He received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1978, and taught at Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin before coming to the University of Texas, Austin in 2001. Brummett has authored, coauthored, or edited numerous articles, scholarly essays, and books, including Contemporary Apocalyptic Rhetoric, Techniques of Close Reading, Rhetoric of Machine Aesthetics, and The Politics of Style and the Style of Politics. His research pursuits include the rhetoric of popular culture, epistemology, homologies relating the troubled physical structures represented in popular culture and troubled social structures, and the theories of Kenneth Burke.

Review :
This book is helpful at all levels of the Communication Program: undergraduate and graduate. A clear, useful text. Rhetorical perspective on analyzing texts from a holistic perspective is ideal for an introductory course in English Studies. I like the brevity of the book as well as its writing style. I hope it is as accessible to my students as I think it will be. Appropriate for teaching secondary critical reading techniques Will be adopting for a future course. It is a great, easy "how to" for getting students to start to "read" texts." It is an excellent source for close textual reading, but that′s all. Anything outside that topic isn′t covered. I will recommend this book for students doing projects involving a close reading of texts. This is a book unique in it′s scope and approach. Offers an approach to developing interpretation that is simultaneously profound and accessible. This has been a great addition to my Media Criticism class. Too detailed for my purposes. An excellent summary of the techniques used to analyze texts. A good companion book for a media criticism course. The book is a concise and practical guide to critical study of literary and cultural texts. It also offers an excellent introduction to any course on theoretical approaches in the various fields of the humanities. Basic terms are clearly defined, so that they can be understood by complete novices, which makes the book appropriate for initial undergraduate courses. The author adopts an effective style revealing a friendly attitude to his readers, and encourages them to engage in a dialogue and share the close reading of well chosen examples of various recent texts in order to develop their own analytical skills. The book will definitely help my students build foundations for their first encounters with literary and cultural theory. This text gave students the opportunity to take time to improve their reading skills and filled a gap in their skills level for undertaking their dissertation and other level 3 and 4 modules. Still considering for a future adoption. Clear, basic book. It will be a great introduction. My only complaint is that the language is a bit sexist. It′s been a while since I read a book where the generic "he" prevailed." Excellent book for preparing students to read closely other authors′ writings and in turn to analyze their own writing production. great book, engaging, critical, good price Brummett provides clear and cogent analyses carefully aimed at undergraduates. I particularly like the organization around acts of reading rather than authorial intention or social science method. My students, unprompted, said that they found Brummett′s tone likeable and realistic. Possibly in the future. Brummett does an excellent job of combining rhetorical insights and concepts with techniques for close reading