Illness as a rhetorical act: A cross‐cultural perspective

On the intellectual structure of the human communication discipline

“…RepresenDownloaded by [York University Libraries] at 20:28 04 January 2015 196-POWERS tative of these tier-1 investigations are the following: Bruner's (1989) analysis of the symbolic uses of the Berlin Wall, Chesebro's (1982) study of illness as a rhetorical act, Ekman and Friesen's (1969) classic analysis of the categories, origins, usage, and coding of nonverbal behaviors as relatively independent signs, Fry and Fry's (1986) semiotic model for the study of mass communication, Hankiss's (1980) analysis of the signs and symbols used by con artists to deceive their target, Hattenhauer's (1984) semiotic analysis of the rhetoric of architecture, Knapp, Hart, Friedrich and Shulman's (1973) investigation of the nonverbal signs used during leave-taking, Lurie's (1981) work on the semiotics of clothing, and Medhurst's (1982) analysis of the rhetorical uses of iconography in film. In each case, the authors apply some aspect of the various fundamental theories of semiotics toward understanding a particular message system.…”

Handbook of family communication

“…For example, many textbooks cite the therapeutic literature extensively (individual psychological as well as family systems) and seek to develop models of family communication that incorporate concepts of wellness (e.g., satisfaction, optimal family functioning). Communication scholars have also examined "illness" as a communication act (Chesebro, 1982). However, to date there have not been systematic research efforts to examine the array of communication that occurs in families along the wellness-illness continuum.…”

Exploring the impact of technology on communication in medicine and health

“…Today, we are experiencing a revolution in medical care which will have an impact at least as important as the discovery of the microbe and the use of antibiotics. Whether one describes the relationship in terms of social constructs (Swiderski, 1976), rhetorical acts (Chesebro, 1982), sick or deviant role behavior (Parsons, 1951), or analogic discourse (Goodall, 1983)-all of which may have a place in analyzing discourse between physicians and patients-one must also take into account the impact on communication of changes and apparent advances in the use of computers in medicine which have thrust this relationship into the age of what Lewis Thomas (1983) calls "electronic intimacy. "…”