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Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency Edited by Martin J. Medhurst |
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson in particular wrought profound changes in the American presidency. Chief among those was the use of rhetoric—the capacity to use symbols in a persuasive way. It was a radical departure and the start of an evolution toward direct appeals from president to general public.
Divided into three sections, the ten essays of this volume focus on that evolution and offer thought-provoking analyses concerning the role of presidential rhetoric in passing policy, generating support, and promoting public discourse.
In Part I, Jeffrey Tulis, who helped introduce the concept of the rhetorical presidency in the 1980s, considers how the dilemmas he envisioned as part of that concept change just as the political arena changes. Part II turns from theoretical and metatheoretical explorations to practical criticism in a series of case studies.
Finally, Part III of this volume offers a social scientific assessment of the theoretical and interpretive research on presidential rhetoric from George C. Edwards III. An introduction and afterword by series editor Martin J. Medhurst seek to clarify the nature and status of the debate about the rhetorical presidency.
Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency offers scholars with an interest in speech communication and political science a volume that reexamines the place and significance of presidential rhetoric.
"This volume is unique [in] attempting to address and update the implications of the rhetorical presidency."—Theodore O. Windt, University of Pittsburgh
"Thematically, the stress on rhetoric marks it as distinctive among political science texts, and among communications scholars and students, the focus on presidential discourse by such a range of authors is inherently appealing."—Stephen H. Browne, Pennsylvania State University
MARTIN J. MEDHURST is a distinguished professor of rhetoric and communication at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Jeffrey K. Tulis
Glen E. Thurow
Bruce E. Gronbeck
Thomas W. Benson
II
Roderick P. Hart
Kathleen E. Kendall
Edwin Black
G. Thomas Goodnight
Robert L. Ivie
Karlyn Kohrs Campbell
III
George C. Edwards III
Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency
1-58544-394-8 paper $24.95s
LC 96-11017. 6 1/8x9 1/4. 296 pp. Index.
Speech Communication. Political Science. Presidential Studies.
Publication Date: August 1996.
NEW IN PAPER AUGUST 2004
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