A New Rhetoric of Social Movements
(First Edition)
©2026, 318 pages
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A New Rhetoric of Social Movements explains the rhetoric—visual, aural, verbal, and technological—of social change actors from a theoretical perspective that emphasizes the interrelationship of agitation and control and the spectrum of movement activities from the reformist to the revolutionary. Readers learn not only how to describe social movements, but also how to explain them: why they succeed and by what means, why they fail and in what contexts and conditions, and in whose interests they operate. There is extensive consideration of how media, including social media, serve as affordances of social movement actors and organizations. Each chapter provides multiple current examples and features an extended case study for continuity and clarity.
Chapters lay out a new theoretical framework for studying social movements: the Hegemony-Formation-Pressure model. In the context of counterhegemonic struggle, this model puts the moments of formation (identity- and consciousness-forming rhetorics) in a dialectical cycle with the tactics of pressure (instrumental action demanding institutional change). The idea of a circuit of formation and pressure captures the totality of movements and their complexity.
Filling a gap in the literature, A New Rhetoric of Social Movements is an invaluable textbook for upper-division and graduate courses in communication studies, rhetoric, social movements, and U.S. history.
Chapters lay out a new theoretical framework for studying social movements: the Hegemony-Formation-Pressure model. In the context of counterhegemonic struggle, this model puts the moments of formation (identity- and consciousness-forming rhetorics) in a dialectical cycle with the tactics of pressure (instrumental action demanding institutional change). The idea of a circuit of formation and pressure captures the totality of movements and their complexity.
Filling a gap in the literature, A New Rhetoric of Social Movements is an invaluable textbook for upper-division and graduate courses in communication studies, rhetoric, social movements, and U.S. history.
Dana L. Cloud (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is Director of the School of Communication, Film, and Media Studies at the University of Cincinnati. She is the author of Consolation and Control in U.S. Politics and Culture: Rhetorics of Therapy; We ARE the Union: Dissent and Democratic Unionism at Boeing; and Reality Bites: Rhetoric and the Circulation of Truth Claims in U.S. Political Culture, among other articles, edited volumes, and book chapters. She is a longtime activist in movements for social justice.
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"I see a lot of value in Dr. Cloud’s book. I believe that the current market is characterized by outdated books whose theory is more academic than activist. I value Dr. Cloud’s voice and ethos as an activist and find that the goal of bringing together instrumental and constitutive rhetoric, as well as centering Gramsci’s hegemony as a tool for rhetorical study and practice of social movement, are strong contributions."
Christina Foust, Metropolitan State University of Denver
"My overall sense of the rationale, and indeed the project as a whole, is quite positive. It takes up a subject of self-evident importance; provides a broad and compelling vista; and effectively balances historical and conceptual material in a clear and accessible way. […] Dr. Cloud is an accomplished scholar and experienced author; she knows how to make good on her promises and does so here. [...] [The book] is bursting with interesting and important material; it is clearly written and based on a career’s worth of experience. The author knows whereof she speaks. [...] [The book is] NEEDED, it’s needed NOW, and you will be a better teacher for it."
Stephen Howard Browne, The Pennsylvania State University
"A book like this is helpful because it provides ample examples. […] [Clarity] is one thing that I noticed and was really impressed by. The chapters were clear, organized, and focused. […] [The writing style is] engaging, personable, and accessible. [...] I really like where this book is going. I think what this sets up is a story of social movements not just as this thing where one institution butts up against another, but a story of radicalism moving against the establishment. [...] I think this is a great book and it is a real improvement on previous texts."
M. Elizabeth Thorpe, SUNY Brockport
"[This book] establishes a new approach to social movements that integrates and expands on major previous approaches and writings. I think it meets an important need. [...] I think framing social movements as a response to injustice is a different and interesting approach, and exploring some of the structural injustices in American life is helpful and will be interesting to students who are studying social movements. […] [Dr. Cloud] lay[s] out the model of the rhetoric of social movements in a very clear and accessible way. Main ideas are concretized with specific examples. [...] I think [Chapter 4: Rhetorical Traditions in Social Movement Studies] does an excellent job of surveying and integrating rhetorical approaches to movements, which is a large and diverse body of literature. I also appreciate that differences are recognized, and that the text doesn’t attempt force all the literature into some kind of master story. I think it creates a framework for understanding how to read the rhetorical literature and to appreciate the different approaches."
Matt Sobnosky, Florida Atlantic University
Christina Foust, Metropolitan State University of Denver
"My overall sense of the rationale, and indeed the project as a whole, is quite positive. It takes up a subject of self-evident importance; provides a broad and compelling vista; and effectively balances historical and conceptual material in a clear and accessible way. […] Dr. Cloud is an accomplished scholar and experienced author; she knows how to make good on her promises and does so here. [...] [The book] is bursting with interesting and important material; it is clearly written and based on a career’s worth of experience. The author knows whereof she speaks. [...] [The book is] NEEDED, it’s needed NOW, and you will be a better teacher for it."
Stephen Howard Browne, The Pennsylvania State University
"A book like this is helpful because it provides ample examples. […] [Clarity] is one thing that I noticed and was really impressed by. The chapters were clear, organized, and focused. […] [The writing style is] engaging, personable, and accessible. [...] I really like where this book is going. I think what this sets up is a story of social movements not just as this thing where one institution butts up against another, but a story of radicalism moving against the establishment. [...] I think this is a great book and it is a real improvement on previous texts."
M. Elizabeth Thorpe, SUNY Brockport
"[This book] establishes a new approach to social movements that integrates and expands on major previous approaches and writings. I think it meets an important need. [...] I think framing social movements as a response to injustice is a different and interesting approach, and exploring some of the structural injustices in American life is helpful and will be interesting to students who are studying social movements. […] [Dr. Cloud] lay[s] out the model of the rhetoric of social movements in a very clear and accessible way. Main ideas are concretized with specific examples. [...] I think [Chapter 4: Rhetorical Traditions in Social Movement Studies] does an excellent job of surveying and integrating rhetorical approaches to movements, which is a large and diverse body of literature. I also appreciate that differences are recognized, and that the text doesn’t attempt force all the literature into some kind of master story. I think it creates a framework for understanding how to read the rhetorical literature and to appreciate the different approaches."
Matt Sobnosky, Florida Atlantic University
