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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies

Hillary Rodham Clinton And Shifts In Gendered Rhetorical Style, Mackenzie Lombardi Jan 2017

Hillary Rodham Clinton And Shifts In Gendered Rhetorical Style, Mackenzie Lombardi

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Hillary Rodham Clinton is arguably the most visible and controversial female political figure of our time. As First Lady, the Senator from New York, the Secretary of State, and a two-time Presidential candidate, the rhetorical space around Clinton is saturated with cultural assumptions of gender, power, and politics. In many ways Clinton is emblematic of the infamous “double bind” that all women who seek to challenge normative gendered roles must inevitably face. Much academic and cultural focus has been centered on the ways in which Hillary Rodham Clinton is a subject of gendered rhetoric. This paper, instead, builds on the …


When Water Works: A Case Study Of Campaign Tears And The 2008 Presidential Election, Ryan Neville-Shepard Dec 2015

When Water Works: A Case Study Of Campaign Tears And The 2008 Presidential Election, Ryan Neville-Shepard

Speaker & Gavel

Since the fall of Senator Ed Muskie in the 1972 Democratic primary there has been an unwritten rule that political candidates should avoid crying. However, four presidential candidates cried in ten separate incidents during the 2008 election cycle, with only three episodes receiving negative attention. Addressing this inconsistency in the “Muskie rule,” in this essay I argue the effect of crying on a political candidate’s image is not well understood. As such, this essay develops and applies a framework for comprehending when crying will likely trigger a public relations crisis, and when it might actually benefit a candidate.


Explaining The Revolution: Vernacular Discourse And The Tipping Point In America’S 2006 Midterm Election, Ryan Michael Shepard Nov 2015

Explaining The Revolution: Vernacular Discourse And The Tipping Point In America’S 2006 Midterm Election, Ryan Michael Shepard

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The 2006 midterm election marked perhaps the first time that the American public held the Bush administration accountable for its controversial actions. Various explanations have been offered for the backlash, ranging from public concern about the war to disgust over sex scandals involving prominent conservatives. In this essay, through analysis of vernacular discourse appearing in letters to the editor from USA Today, I argue that the election results stemmed from Bush’s weakening credibility – in respect to the dimensions of honesty, competence, and moderation – which limited the effectiveness of his rhetoric that was so powerful since September 11th.


Paws, Pathos And Presidential Persuasion: Franklin Roosevelt’S "Fala Speech" As Precursor And Model For Richard Nixon's "Checkers Speech", John Llewellyn Nov 2015

Paws, Pathos And Presidential Persuasion: Franklin Roosevelt’S "Fala Speech" As Precursor And Model For Richard Nixon's "Checkers Speech", John Llewellyn

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

In autumn 1944 Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential campaign was losing momentum. Then, in Congressional debate, U. S. Representative Harold Knutson of Minnesota accused Roosevelt of extravagance, claiming he sent a Navy destroyer to the Aleutian Islands to retrieve his Scottish terrier. FDR parried these charges with "the Fala speech," a mocking and acerbic attack on Republicans ("No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala") that reenergized his campaign. "The Fala speech" also indirectly rescued Richard Nixon. Under attack in the 1952 campaign, Nixon saved his vice presidential aspirations and political career with the "Checkers" address. However, the …


Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent Aug 2014

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …


Visible Identities, Visual Rhetoric: The Self-Labeled Body As A Popular Platform For Political Persuasion, Joel Penney Jan 2012

Visible Identities, Visual Rhetoric: The Self-Labeled Body As A Popular Platform For Political Persuasion, Joel Penney

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines how political T-shirts--i.e., those featuring printed images, symbols, or words that make explicit reference to electoral politics--are used by their wearers as identity labels for the purpose of advancing persuasive messages in the public sphere.


A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson Apr 2008

A Primary Human Challenge, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

We may ask why, at both the individual and collective levels, it has seemed so difficult for us to choose to evolve our human games with Joy. There is no one answer for such a question, for each of us has the gift of free will. I will suggest, however, that built into our human games is what I call a primary human challenge. That primary human challenge is a dynamic tension, flowing from our creative urge for the freedom “to be” who we really are in our current physical form, and simultaneously to embrace our responsibility for our Being-ness.