Individual Presentation or Panel Title
American Stories: The Use of Personal and Familial Narratives in State of the Union Addresses
Abstract
Presidential rhetoric is essential to shaping not only policy but also perception of the president. The usage of presidential rhetoric has changed over the past century and thus warrants examination. This paper seeks to answer how presidents use narratives of family to achieve their self-presentational goals. The texts selected are State of the Union addresses beginning in 1965, when the speech was first televised. This marks the president’s ability to speak directly to the people instead of Congress, for which the speech is constitutionally designed. A rhetorical analysis of the State of the Union speeches will examine the uses of family narratives to achieve rhetorical goals as well as trace differences and growths in usage. Following similar methods to a study by Whitehead and Smith, usages will be counted and analyzed to determine their purpose according to self-presentation strategies. Result may find that usages differ in purpose and frequency over time.
Location
Goodwin Private Dining Room
Start Date
30-4-2016 2:30 PM
End Date
30-4-2016 3:20 PM
Keywords
political rhetoric, presidential studies, rhetorical analysis
American Stories: The Use of Personal and Familial Narratives in State of the Union Addresses
Goodwin Private Dining Room
Presidential rhetoric is essential to shaping not only policy but also perception of the president. The usage of presidential rhetoric has changed over the past century and thus warrants examination. This paper seeks to answer how presidents use narratives of family to achieve their self-presentational goals. The texts selected are State of the Union addresses beginning in 1965, when the speech was first televised. This marks the president’s ability to speak directly to the people instead of Congress, for which the speech is constitutionally designed. A rhetorical analysis of the State of the Union speeches will examine the uses of family narratives to achieve rhetorical goals as well as trace differences and growths in usage. Following similar methods to a study by Whitehead and Smith, usages will be counted and analyzed to determine their purpose according to self-presentation strategies. Result may find that usages differ in purpose and frequency over time.