Third Persona - Rooted in Ideological Criticism

Rooted in Ideological Criticism

Wander, in his 1984 article, explores and critiques many facets of rhetorical method. His goals are writ large, that, for example, "To be progressive, change must progress toward something. That something, oriented around traditional humanist notions of human potential, is grounded in the emancipation of human potential." These altruistic goals are requisite to understanding the notion of Third Persona, which seeks to acknowledge the unacknowledged social voice.

Public space, Wander states, is necessary for the perpetuation of healthy ideological criticism, without which "criticism lapses into eulogy or falls silent." At the heart of Wander's study is his consideration of the meaning of meaning in terms of semiotics: "If a critic denies that an action, event, or text meant something to those who produced it . . . threatens to become meaningless." At the root of this problem of meaning is the intention of meaning and the intended audience to receive the intended meaning; Wander writes, "The 'meaning' of a speech will vary with the audience." Thus, interpretation varies significantly from the intended meaning of communication. Regarding audiences that are "not present, audiences rejected or negated through the speech and/or the speaking situation. This audience I shall call the Third Persona."

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