This thesis is a rhetorical analysis of sexual harassment codes on college and
university campuses. The situational model proposed by Lloyd Bitzer is used to examine
representative artifacts from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Oregon State
University in Corvallis, Oregon, so as to determine whether they operate as "fitting"
rhetorical responses to the situation generally and the exigence of sexual harassment
specifically. The body of this analysis develops in eight stages: an introductory discussion
of sexual harassment and research conducted thereon; examination of codes as ethical and
situational constructs; explication of the rhetorical framework; the nature of the exigence
as a historical and campus-specific imperfection; examination of the publics that create the
rhetorical audience; the inartistic and artistic constraints operative within the rhetorical
situation; an analysis of the two codes; and summary comments and recommendations.
Within the last two sections the determinations are made that: 1) the codes do not
currently function as a "fitting" response to the situation/exigence, and that 2) revisions
can be made so as to promote a more pragmatic and "fitting" response to sexual
harassment. / Graduation date: 1997
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/34265 |
| Date | 02 May 1997 |
| Creators | Porrovecchio, Mark J. |
| Contributors | Knapp, Trischa |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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