Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition

David Zarefsky

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-05485-8_18

Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition

David Zarefsky^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Communication Studies

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

This essay responds to the claim that presidential rhetoric has little effect. It addresses three questions: (1) How do we understand the nature of presidential rhetoric and its effects? (2) What does presidential rhetoric do? (3) How do we know? From the perspective of the humanities, rhetoric is a complex transaction among speakers or writers, audiences, and critics. Effects are better understood as invitations to respond. A key function of presidential rhetoric is to define social reality, and this power to define is a significant presidential resource. Eight case studies explore how presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush have relied on rhetorical definition. This essay originally was presented at a research symposium at Texas A&M University. It is reprinted here from Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34 (September 2004), 607–619.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Argumentation Library
Publisher	Springer Nature
Pages	225-238
Number of pages	14
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05485-8_18
State	Published - 2014

Publication series

Name	Argumentation Library
Volume	24
ISSN (Print)	1566-7650
ISSN (Electronic)	2215-1907

Keywords

Definition of the situation
Framing
Persuasive definition
Presidential rhetoric
Rhetorical presidency

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Law
Philosophy
Linguistics and Language
Language and Linguistics

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10.1007/978-3-319-05485-8_18

Cite this

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Presidential Rhetoric and the Power of Definition

Abstract

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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