'A highly original account which brings the concept of rhetoric and its intellectual history to bear on the sociology of communication and a re-reading of classic works in social theory.'

-Peter Simonson, Professor Emeritus of Communication, University of Colorado Boulder, USA, and author of Refiguring Mass Communication: A History.

This book addresses the convergence of sociology, communication and rhetoric, with particular reference to the contemporary expressive and social patterns of mass communication. Using rhetoric as a meta-conceptual apparatus for the sociology of communication, this book offers an original and comprehensive critique of historical social theory alongside 20th century communication researchers. The author demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between the rhetorical structures of the media-sphere and the new narrative formats in which cultural representation merges into social and civil observation. This book will be of interest to academics and students studying sociology, communication and cultural studies.

Andrea Lombardinilo is Associate Professor in Sociology of Communicative and Cultural Processes at the "Gabriele d'Annunzio" University, Italy, where he teaches sociology and communication, communication and public safety, media and risk society. He has carried out institutional and research activities at the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), in the field of higher education and institutional communication.