Sociorhetorical Textures: Dictionary of Sociorhetorical Terms

Welcome to the Dictionary of Sociorhetorical Terms. From this page, you are able to find the definitions of most of the major terms and concepts used by Sociorhetorical Interpretation (SRI) as well as short descriptions of the sociorhetorical "textures" that make up a religious text.

To begin, click on the letter that begins the word for which you are seeking a definition:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J-L | M-N | O | P-Q | R | S | T-Z

Click an item on the Sociorhetorical Textures Table below or go to the Religious Textures

Inner Texture	Intertexture	Social-Cultural Texture	Ideological Texture	Sacred Texture
Repetitive Progressive Narrational Opening-Middle-Closing	Oral-Scribal Recitation Recontextualization Reconfiguration Narrative Amplification Thematic Elaboration Cultural Reference or allusion Echo	Specific Topics Conversionist Revolutionist Introversionist Gnostic-Manipulationist Thaumaturgic Reformist Utopian	Individual Locations Relation to Groups Clique Gang Action set Faction Corporate group Historic tradition Multiple traditions	Deity Holy person Spirit being Human redemption
Argumentative Sensory-Aesthetic Emotion-fused thought Self-expressive speech Purposeful action	Social Role Institution Code Relationship Historical Multiplicity of data Nature of data	Common Topics Honor-Shame: ascribed, acquired Individualist, dyadic Contracts: colleague, patron-client Challenge-response Exchange systems Peasants Limited goods Purity codes	Modes of Intellectual Discourse Historical-critical Social-scientific History of religions New historical Postmodern Socio-rhetorical	Human commitment Religious community Ecclesiology Ethics
		Final Categories Dominant Culture Subculture Counterculture Contraculture Liminal Culture	Spheres of Ideology Implied author location Ideology of power

Inner Texture

Intertexture

Social-Cultural Texture

Opening-Middle-Closing

Narrative Amplification

Thematic Elaboration

Cultural

Reference or allusion

Gnostic-Manipulationist

Multiple traditions

Emotion-fused thought

Self-expressive speech

Purposeful action

Social

Role

Institution

Code

Relationship

Historical

Multiplicity of data

Nature of data

Common Topics

Honor-Shame: ascribed, acquired

Individualist, dyadic

Contracts: colleague, patron-client

Modes of Intellectual Discourse

Social-scientific

New historical

Implied author location

Ideology of power

Definitions written by Mark Roncace, David Charnon, and Tamara Yates based on Vernon K. Robbins, Exploring the Texture of Texts, Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1996 and Vernon K. Robbins, The Tapestry of Early Christianity: Rhetoric, Society, and Ideology, London and New York: Routledge, 1996.