Author Description

From unarmed protesters confronting whaling ships, to anti-logging activists occupying trees, radical environmentalists increasingly rely upon attracting mass media coverage to gain public support. Their controversial "image events" have attracted national attention, spurred public debate, and provoked changes in environmental policies. In this book, Kevin Michael DeLuca examines the use of the image event as a rhetorical tactic, one that often supplants written or spoken arguments. He analyzes widely televised environmentalist actions to illustrate how these groups' visual discourse fulfills fundamental rhetorical functions - and enacts new political possibilities. Providing a sustained critique of the practices of environmental activists today, this book also stretches the boundaries of critical rhetoric itself. It will be read with interest by scholars and students of rhetorical theory, media and communication theory, visual theory, environmental studies, social change movements, and political theory.