In February, 2010, John M. Murphy, Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Illinois presented a lecture entitled “Barack Obama, the Joshua Generation, and Political Leadership.” Professor Murphy argued that Barack Obama is unprecedented. Not only has an African … Continue Reading »

Professor Martin J. Medhurst delivered the 2008-9 Rhetorical Leadership Lecture entitled “Presidential Speechwriting and the Nomination Acceptance Address, 1932-2004” on September 25, 2008. His lecture examined the formal, functional, and stylistic dimensions of acceptance addresses across 72 years in order … Continue Reading »

The 2007-8 Rhetorical Leadership Lecture entitled “Mediating Hillary Rodham Clinton: The News Media as Arbiters of Political Authenticity” was given by Professor Shawn J. Parry-Giles on April 16, 2008. Dr. Parry-Giles is Professor of Communication and Director of the Center … Continue Reading »

Professor Bonnie Dow, Associate Professor of Communication and Women’s and Gender Studies at Vanderbilt University, delivered the 2006-7 Rhetorical Leadership Lecture. The lecture, entitled “Rhetorical Leadership, Movements, and Media: The Difficult Case of 1970s Feminism in the U.S.,” was delivered … Continue Reading »

In February, 2005, Professor James R. Andrews of Indiana University presented “Rhetorical Leadership and the Struggle for an Ethical Culture.” This lecture was based on the premise that civic and social values are largely shaped by history, tradition, sacred texts, … Continue Reading »

On March 17, 2004, Professor G. Thomas Goodnight of University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication presented the inaugural lecture entitled “Rhetoric and Risk: Problems, Puzzles and Paradoxes.” He argued that the concept of risk structures public argument in … Continue Reading »