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Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication

2016

Barack Obama

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Selective Amnesia And Racial Transcendence In News Coverage Of President Obama’S Inauguration, Casey R. Kelly, Kristen Hoerl Apr 2016

Selective Amnesia And Racial Transcendence In News Coverage Of President Obama’S Inauguration, Casey R. Kelly, Kristen Hoerl

Casey R. Kelly

The mainstream press frequently characterized the election of President Barack Obama the first African American US President as the realization of Martin Luther King's dream, thus crafting a postracial narrative of national transcendence. I argue that this routine characterization of Obama's election functions as a site for the production of selective amnesia, a form of remembrance that routinely negates and silences those who would contest hegemonic narratives of national progress and unity.


Mitt Romney In Denver: “Obamacare” As Ideological Enthymeme, Justin Ward Kirk Jan 2016

Mitt Romney In Denver: “Obamacare” As Ideological Enthymeme, Justin Ward Kirk

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This paper argues that surface-level analysis of political argument fails to explain the effectiveness of ideological enthymemes, particularly within the context of presidential debates. This paper uses the first presidential debate of the 2012 election as a case study for the use of “Obamacare” as an ideological enthymeme. The choice of a terminological system limits and shapes the argumentative choices afforded the candidate. Presidential debates provide a unique context within which to examine the interaction of ideological constraints and argument due to their relatively committed and ideologically homogenous audiences.