My overall assessment is that Jennifer MacLennan's essay on crime-scene analysis as viewed in the light of Burke's dramatism makes for a rich, detailed, and generally convincing analogue. Obviously, if Burke's take on human symbolic action has validity, a dramatistic critic can dig up spadefuls of drama in any set of discourses. As she makes clear, though, MacLennan explores not just the way the pentad-related "who, what, when, where, and why questions" pervade the how-to-do-it books of the sleuths who solve serial murders. She unveils "deeper connections" and similarities. Both John Douglas and Robert Ressler, her primary guides in the hunt for what are superficially thought to be motiveless killings, have "assembled . . . a grammar of the symbolic elements of violent crime," a "language of the crime scene," that mirrors many of Burke's primary insights.
Call for Submissions! Rhetoric in a precarious world. Moving forward with and from Kenneth Burke
Following the Kenneth Burke Conference at the University of Ghent, July 1–3, 2026, we are inviting paper submissions for a related special issue of the KB Journal entitled Rhetoric in a Precarious World: Moving Forward with and from Kenneth Burke. The guest editors are Kris Rutten (Ghent University, Belgium; kris.rutten@ugent.be) and Amanda Adam (Ghent University, Belgium; amanda.adam@ugent.be). The submission deadline is August 15, 2026. Read the full description and submission guidelines here.
Submit to KB Journal
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KB Journal is in the process of migrating to a new Drupal 11 website and is temporarily closing the Submittable review system until December 2026. Please check back then!
KB: A Conversation (Video)
Find out about Harry Chapin's video interview of Kenneth Burke and how you can get a copy.