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Greeted Like Liberators: Media, Myth, And Metaphor In The Rhetorical Construction Of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Revised. Sed., Charles Franklin Bisbee Dec 2011

Greeted Like Liberators: Media, Myth, And Metaphor In The Rhetorical Construction Of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Revised. Sed., Charles Franklin Bisbee

Charles Franklin Bisbee

Journalistic performance in covering the presidential argument to undertake Operation Iraqi Freedom drew almost instantaneous criticism from within the profession. The general line of criticism held that journalists failed a “watchdog” standard of applying scrutiny to the rhetoric of public officials in terms of fact-based and legitimate argumentation. Alleged causes were usually rooted in al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 terroristic attacks inside the United States. Some critics submitted that post-attack journalistic “patriotism” granted President George W. Bush an overly-generous benefit of doubt in framing an American response. Others faulted journalistic norms. But the criticism, however admissible, remained far from conclusive. My …


Studying And Teaching "Law As Rhetoric": A Place To Stand, Linda L. Berger Jan 2010

Studying And Teaching "Law As Rhetoric": A Place To Stand, Linda L. Berger

Linda L. Berger

This article proposes that law students may find a better fit within the legal culture of argument if they are introduced to rhetorical alternatives to counter narrowly formalist and realist perspectives on how the law works and how judges decide cases. The article makes a two-part argument: first, introducing law students to rhetorical alternatives allows them to envision their role as lawyers as constructive, effective, and imaginative while grounded in law, language, and reason. Second, offering rhetorical alternatives allows law professors to enrich their own study and teaching and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the law school classroom …


How Embedded Knowledge Structures Affect Judicial Decision Making: An Analysis Of Metaphor, Narrative, And Imagination In Child Custody Disputes, Linda L. Berger Jan 2009

How Embedded Knowledge Structures Affect Judicial Decision Making: An Analysis Of Metaphor, Narrative, And Imagination In Child Custody Disputes, Linda L. Berger

Linda L. Berger

We live in a time of radically changing conceptions of family and of the relationships possible between children and parents. Though undergoing “a sea-change,” family law remains tethered to culturally embedded stories and symbols. While so bound, family law will fail to serve individual families and a society whose family structures diverge sharply by education, race, class, and income. This article advances a critical rhetorical analysis of the interaction of metaphor and narrative within the specific context of child custody disputes. Its goal is to begin to examine how these embedded knowledge structures affect judicial decision making generally; more specifically, …


(Still) Not Fit To Be Named: Moving Beyond Race To Explain Why 'Separate' Nomenclature For Gay And Straight Relationships Will Never Be 'Equal', Courtney M. Cahill Jan 2009

(Still) Not Fit To Be Named: Moving Beyond Race To Explain Why 'Separate' Nomenclature For Gay And Straight Relationships Will Never Be 'Equal', Courtney M. Cahill

Courtney M. Cahill

This Article provides a novel approach to an issue that has recently assumed national prominence: Whether it is constitutional to extend same-sex couples the substance of marriage but only under a different name, like civil union or domestic partnership. While legal actors have challenged the constitutionality of nominal difference by comparing it to the discredited legal doctrine of separate-but-equal, this Article moves beyond race to show why ‘separate’ names for gay and straight relationships will never be ‘equal,’ namely, because they reflect and perpetuate something that has applied to same-sex intimacy for centuries: a speech or a name taboo. In …


Liberty's Equal?: An Essay On Property's Rhetoric, Steven Semeraro Aug 2007

Liberty's Equal?: An Essay On Property's Rhetoric, Steven Semeraro

Steven Semeraro

Legal analysis of the compensation problem in Takings law has shifted its focus from the welfare economics and traditional philosophy to a more or less self-conscious linguistic investigation of the rhetorical devices used to convey the concept of property through language. Insight comes from understanding the signs and categories that our society uses to communicate about and understand property, rather than from a comprehensive view of what is best for society. This essay focuses on a partially concealed rhetorical device that has been repeatedly used by courts to justify the appropriateness of compensating individuals whose property loses some value as …


The Co-Optation Of A ‘‘Revolution’’: Rastafari, Reggae, And The Rhetoric Of Social Control, Stephen A. King Jan 1999

The Co-Optation Of A ‘‘Revolution’’: Rastafari, Reggae, And The Rhetoric Of Social Control, Stephen A. King

Stephen A. King

No abstract provided.