Visual Rhetorics of Communist Romania: Life Under the Totalitarian Gaze

Adriana Cordali's book explores the visual rhetoric of communist Romania during the Cold War, using personal accounts and theoretical insight to analyze propaganda and resistance. It identifies rhetorical features, visual tropes, and symbols in propaganda and examines photographs and print materials from the Ceaușescus regime and the time of regime change. The book combines visual rhetoric and culture with history and politics, making it a valuable resource for readers interested in rhetoric and communication, visual rhetoric, and political discourse in the region.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 11 January 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Visual Rhetorics of Communist Romania: Life under the Totalitarian Gaze delves into the personal accounts and theoretical insights of the Cold War era, when limited information about life beyond the Iron Curtain reached the West. Adriana Cordali, a scholar, develops a groundbreaking visual rhetorical theory to analyze communist totalitarian propaganda and the resistance to it. Through her research, she unveils the deliberate and strategic invisibilities employed by the rhetoric of power.

Building upon the local history, ideology, and politics of the regime imposed after WWII, Cordali identifies the rhetorical features, visual tropes, and symbols of propagandas. She examines striking photographs and print materials from the Ceaușescus regime (1966-1989) and the time of regime change (1989-1990), as well as an award-winning Romanian film that portrays women's lives during that period.

By converging visual rhetoric and culture with history and politics, Visual Rhetorics of Communist Romania emerges as a pioneering work in its field. It captivates readers with interests in rhetoric and communication, visual rhetoric, and political discourse within the region.

Weight: 478g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031188053
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023