COMMUNICATION 436:

CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE

SPRING 2008

Professor: Leah Ceccarelli

Contact: cecc@u.washington.edu

Office Hours: Wed. 11:30 a.m. - 1:20 p.m. & by appointment, 145 CMU

Download the pdf version of the course schedule.

Download the pdf version of the course syllabus.

Download the pdf version of the note taking guide.

Download the pdf version of the paper writing guide.

Schedule

How to read this schedule: The assignment refers to the material that should be prepared for that day. This may be a reading assignment, a paper, or an exam. The pop quizzes are not included in this schedule because they are not announced. There may be a pop quiz on any day when there is a reading assignment.

Indicates a reading assignment.
Indicates a paper assignment.

Jump to Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Finals

Week 1

Mon. Mar. 31

Orientation to the class

 

Wed. Apr. 2 Rhetoric of War: World War II
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Declaration of War, 8 December 1941, Context | Text
Fair Play Committee, “Bulletin #3,” 1 March 1944, Context | Text
James Omura, “Let Us Not Be Rash,” 28 February 1944, Text

 

Week 2

Mon. Apr. 7

Rhetoric of War: Korea

Harry S. Truman, Far Eastern Policy Speech, 11 April 1951, Context | Text
Douglas MacArthur, “Old Soldiers Never Die,” 19 April 1951, Context | Text

 

Wed. Apr. 9

Rhetoric of War: Cold War

Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Atoms for Peace,” 8 December 1953, Context | Text
John F. Kennedy, Cuban Missile Crisis Address, 22 October 1962, Context | Text

 

Week 3

Mon. Apr. 14

Rhetoric of War: Vietnam

Richard Nixon, “The Great Silent Majority,” 3 November 1969, Context | Text
John Kerry, Vietnam Veterans against the War Statement, 22 April 1971, Context | Text

 

Wed. Apr. 16 Rhetoric of War: Terrorism
Ronald Reagan, Lebanon and Grenada Speech, 27 October 1983, Context | Text
George W. Bush, “Axis of Evil” State of the Union Speech, 29 January 2002, Context | Text

Week 4

Mon. Apr. 21

Writing the Rhetorical Criticism Paper

Spiro Agnew, “Television News Coverage,” 13 November 1969, Context | Text

Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” 16 April 1963, Context | Text
PUZZLE SECTION OF PAPER DUE (3-4 pgs.)

 

Wed. Apr. 23 Rhetoric of Political Campaigns: Response to Exigence
Richard Nixon, “Checkers,” 23 September 1952, Context | Text)
John F. Kennedy, Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, 12 September 1960, Context | Text

Week 5

Mon. Apr. 28 Rhetoric of Political Campaigns: Motivating the Party Faithful
Ronald Reagan, “A Time For Choosing,” 27 October 1964, Context | Text
Mario Cuomo, DNC Keynote Address "A Tale of Two Cities," 16 July 1984, Context | Text

 

Wed. Apr. 30 Rhetoric of Political Campaigns and Review for Midterm
Barbara Jordan, DNC Keynote Address, 12 July 1976, Context | Text

Week 6

Mon. May 5

***MIDTERM EXAMINATION***

 

Wed.  May 7

Rhetoric of Political Campaigns: Presidential Election 2008

Barack Obama, DNC Keynote Address "The Audacity of Hope," 27 July 2004, Context | Text
Barack Obama, "A More Perfect Union," 18 March 2008, Context | Text

Week 7

Mon. May 12

Rhetoric of Political Campaigns: Presidential Election 2008

Hillary Clinton, “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights,” 5 September 1995, Context | Text

John McCain, Liberty University Commencement Address, 13 May 2006, Context | Text

 

Wed. May 14

Free Speech and Censorship

UW Faculty, “An Open Letter to President Allen,” 7 April 1949, Context | Text
Raymond Allen, “Communists Should Not Teach in American Colleges,” May 1949, Text

 

Week 8

Mon. May 19

Civil Rights

Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” 28 August 1963, Context | Text
Malcolm X., “The Ballot or the Bullet,” 12 April 1964, Context | Text

 

Wed. May 21

Civil Rights

Lyndon B. Johnson, “We Shall Overcome,” 15 March 1965, Context | Text

Robert F. Kennedy, Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., 4 April 1968, Context | Text

 

Week 9

Mon. May 26

NO CLASSES MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY

 

Wed. May 28

American Indian Movement

Indians of All Nations, "The Alcatraz Proclamation," 1969, Context | Text

Russell Means, "For America to Live, Europe Must Die!," July 1980, Context | Text

 

Week 10

Mon. Jun. 2

Feminist Rhetoric

Shirley Chisholm, “For the Equal Rights Amendment, 10 August 1970, Context | Text

Eleanor Smeal, “The Feminization of Power,” 8 July 1987, Context | Text

 

Wed. Jun. 4 Review for Final Exam
FINAL PAPER DUE (6-8 pgs.) on Agnew's speech or MLK's letter (see Week 4 above)

 

Finals Week

Mon. Jun. 9

***FINAL EXAMINATION***