Journal ArticleDOI
Unity and Duality in Barack Obama's “A More Perfect Union”
TLDR
In a speech on race as discussed by the authors, Barack Obama portrayed himself as an embodiment of double consciousness, but then invited his audience to share his doubled perspective, and finally models a doubled mode of speaking and acting that is captioned by the well-known maxim, the Golden Rule.Abstract:
Faced with a racialized political crisis that threatened to derail his campaign to become the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama delivered a speech on race titled “A More Perfect Union.” He begins by portraying himself as an embodiment of double consciousness, but then invites his audience to share his doubled perspective, and finally models a doubled mode of speaking and acting that is captioned by the well-known maxim, the Golden Rule. This speech text thus contributes discursive resources required for the productive doubling necessary for the successful negotiation of contemporary public culture.read more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education.
TL;DR: The central problem of American democracy, according to Danielle Allen, is a lack of trust among citizens as discussed by the authors, and the challenge of democratic politics, ironically, is to turn strangers into friends.
Journal ArticleDOI
One Dream: Barack Obama, Race, and the American Dream
Robert C. Rowland,John M. Jones +1 more
TL;DR: The authors examined the way in which Barack Obama, in his “More Perfect Union” address, dealt with the Rev. Wright controversy and confronted issues of race, arguing that only by making that dream available to all citizens could those problems be remedied.
Journal ArticleDOI
Strategic communications in international relations: Practical traps and ethical puzzles
Nicholas Michelsen,Mervyn Frost +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the interdependency of a number of constructs in a propagandist's imaginary world that is neither true nor false, but a pseudo-reality energised by the emotion of fear and both defined and constricted by ideology and beliefs.
Journal ArticleDOI
Our Foreign President Barack Obama: The Racial Logics of Birther Discourses
TL;DR: The authors argue that the Birther rhetoric of constitutional protection relies on racial logics used in previous discourses about foreignness to delineate acceptable citizenship for the presidency and mark Obama as untrustworthy.
Journal ArticleDOI
Barack Obama, the Exodus Tradition, and the Joshua Generation
TL;DR: This paper explored Barack Obama's invocation of the Exodus during his 2008 presidential campaign and argued that his turn to Exodus, his rare embodiment of Joshua, and his renewal of the American covenant nicely addressed major rhetorical problems that he faced.
References
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Book
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
TL;DR: The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama was only two years old when his father walked out on the family as discussed by the authors, and the sudden news inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and reconcile his divided inheritance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education.
TL;DR: The central problem of American democracy, according to Danielle Allen, is a lack of trust among citizens as discussed by the authors, and the challenge of democratic politics, ironically, is to turn strangers into friends.
Book
Saving Persuasion: A Defense of Rhetoric and Judgment
TL;DR: In "Saving Persuasion", Bryan Garsten uncovers the early modern origins of this suspicious attitude toward rhetoric and seeks to loosen its grip on contemporary political theory and argues that the artful practice of persuasion ought to be viewed as a crucial part of democratic politics as mentioned in this paper.
Book
Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown v. Board of Education
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that l’idealisation de l'unanimite ni le refus de la rhetorique n’appartiennent a la tradition liberale par hasard.
Related Papers (5)
The Prophetic Voice and the Face of the Other in Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" Address, March 18, 2008
Recasting the American Dream and American Politics: Barack Obama's Keynote Address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention
Robert C. Rowland,John M. Jones +1 more