Rhetoric of Public Relations Annotated Bibliography

I’m studying for my Communications class and need an explanation.

 

Rhetoric of Public Relations Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a practical but complex artifact. You should not do your annotated bibliography because it is due: Rather, you should do it to make progress on your project—the work that you do on your bibliography should be part of your gradual, attentive, rhetorical criticism analysis of your public relations campaign. “Doing” the annotated bibliography is better than “getting it finished.”

Your annotated bibliography should include at least 8 items: You should find sources from the academic journals (from rhetoric, from public relations, from business); from superb journalism (such as the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Harpers or other such creative nonfiction); from trade journals and blogs (such as PR News), and original organizational content (such as bylaws, mission statements, content, and interviews). You should list and summarize your items in MLA format (or another conventional documentation style that is appropriate for you). Your listings should be PRECISE … (Use a bibliography “calculator” such as Noodletools; you have to practice before you can benefit from such software; use it and use it well). Your summaries should be thorough, concise, and brief. Your ability to summarize is an essential sign of your ability to read and understand. You can’t cut, paste, and rush clear, concise, accurate summary. You must compose and revise it.

An annotated bibliography has a conventional, familiar look. Here is a sample annotated bibliography with only four entries that I did for my Rhetoric of Music class. ANY annotated bibliography in MLA format will have this basic look:

Annotated Bibliography for Jazz

Clark, Gregory. “Virtuosos and Ensembles: Rhetorical Lessons from Jazz.” The Private, the Public, and the Published: Reconciling Private Lives and Public Rhetoric. Ed. Barbara Couture and Thomas Kent. Logan Utah: Utah State Press, 2004. 31-46. Print. In this essay, Clark uses jazz as a tool by which to reinvigorate the ancient art of rhetoric. He cites rhetoric scholarship and jazz scholarship to analyze the historic conflict between the individual and the community. Clark argues that the concepts of virtuoso, ensemble, and improvisation can offer a strategy for rethinking this conflict in rhetorical theory. He cites some rhetorical theorists who see the collaboration between individual and community as an opportunity to reconstitute both individual and community in a productive way. Arguments such as Clark’s help us understand how art can offer “equipment for living.” Clark also shows us how a rigorous rhetorical scholar approaches a new subject such as music.

Marcus, Greil. “American Folk.” Granta 76.4 (2001): 299-315. Print. In this essay, Marcus gives us a new, deeper way to think about American Folk music. He tells two stories of his fascination with Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk. He focuses on the weird, old America animated by the songs and performers on Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk. Marcus’s critical insight came gradually over many years and experiments of listening to the Anthology. As always, in this essay Marcus offers brilliant insight into both music and criticism. Marcus himself in the critical essay is a virtuoso.

Marsalis, Wynton, and Geoffrey Ward. Interview by Jim Lecinsky. 5 Sept. 2008. In this interview, Marsalis and Ward discuss some of the ideas in their book, Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life. They regard jazz as THE American art, but acknowledge that it is largely out of fashion. They work to defend and reinvigorate jazz. They discuss jazz as a window by which to understand American aesthetics, politics, history, morality, and law. They portray the techniques and values of jazz culture and performance in a way that is familiar to students of rhetoric. The ideas of Marsalis and Ward complement Greg Clark’s argument.

Murphey, Dudley, dir. Black and Tan Fantasy. Composed by Duke Ellington. Perf. Fredi Washington. RKO Radio Pictures, 1929. Film. This short film has to count as one of the first music videos. It was made in 1929 to feature and promote the genius and entertainment potential of Duke Ellington. The film presents a simple narrative framework: two men come to the house of a composer to repossess his piano. His wife talks the men out of repossessing it. She announces that she got a job for herself and her husband playing and dancing in a club. So life is about to get better. But she is ill and the dancing will kill her. This film features Ellington’s music and the dances associated with it. It also gives us a glimpse into the speakeasies where such entertainment flourished in the early 20th century.