Barack Obama and the Rhetoric of Hope

Ferrara, Mark S.

McFarland & Co Inc（2013/07発売）

• 製本 Paperback:紙装版/ペーパーバック版／ページ数 204 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9780786467938
• DDC分類 973.932092

Full Description

The historical and literary antecedents of the President's campaign rhetoric can be traced to the utopian traditions of the Western world. The "rhetoric of hope" is a form of political discourse characterized by a forward-looking vision of social progress brought about by collective effort and adherence to shared values (including discipline, temperance, a strong work ethic, self-reliance and service to the community).

By combining his own personal story (as the biracial son of a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya) with national mythologies like the American Dream, Obama creates a persona that embodies the moral values and cultural mythos of his implied audience. In doing so, he draws upon the Classical world, Judeo-Christianity, the European Enlightenment, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, the presidencies of Jefferson, Lincoln, and FDR, slave narratives, the Black church, the civil rights movement and even popular culture.

Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction: Idealism and the American Mind

One—Judeo-Christianity and the Rational Utopia

Two—American Founding Documents

Three—Slave Narratives, the Black Church and Civil Rights

Four—The Legacy of Three Great Presidents

Five—The Force of Fiction, Music and Popular Culture

Six—Values and the Content of Character

Seven—Constructing the Narrative Persona

Eight—Universalism, Globalization and the Multicultural Utopia

Nine—Rhetoric and the Presidency

Ten—The 2012 Campaign

Chapter Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index