John F. Kennedy, the Construction of Peace, and the Pitfalls of Androgynous Rhetoric

The Intersection Between Deep Moral Frames and Rhetorical Style in the Struggle over U.S. Immigration Reform

“…Unlike previous examinations of contemporary political rhetoric that have generally uncovered discourse utilizing either a feminine style or some combination of masculine and feminine styles (e.g., Blankenship & Robson, 1995;DeRosa & Bystrom, 1999;Johnson, 2005;Kimble, 2009;Parry-Giles & Parry-Giles, 1996), our textual analysis uncovered few traces of feminine language use. Instead, policymakers and political commentators relied heavily on masculinely styled rhetoric; they projected an authoritative voice through declarative, data-driven arguments.…”

“…Some, but by no means all, rhetorical scholars working with gender-associated styles have contrasted the feminine style against a masculine counterpart (e.g., Banwart & McKinney, 2005;DeRosa & Bystrom, 1999;Jamieson, 1988Jamieson, , 1995Kimble, 2009;Sefcovic & Bifano, 2004). Unlike the feminine style that fosters peer relationships, the masculine style establishes a voice of authority and expertise and, thus, constructs a hierarchical relationship between rhetor and audience.…”

The Problem with Presidential Databases

“…But this speech was not as “uncommon” as the authors seem to imply. By eliminating, through definition, presidential speeches not delivered to the entire nation, the proposed database overlooks such masterpieces of presidential persuasion as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech at Gettysburg on July 3, 1938 (Benson 2002); Truman's Navy Day address of October 27, 1945 (Underhill 1961); Eisenhower's “Atoms for Peace” speech of December 8, 1953 (Medhurst 1987; Parry‐Giles 2006); Kennedy's “American University” address of June 10, 1963 (Kimble 2009); Lyndon Johnson's “Great Society” speech of May 22, 1964 (Zarefsky 1979, 1986); Nixon's speeches in the People's Republic of China during February 1972 (Yang 2011); Ford's speech on the Vietnam War of April 23, 1975 (McMahon 1999); Carter's speech on the Panama Canal of October 22, 1977 (Sudol 1979); Reagan's speech at the Brandenburg Gate of June 12, 1987 (Rowland and Jones 2006); George H. W. Bush's speech “A Whole Europe, A Free Europe” of May 31, 1989 (Hogue 2008); Bill Clinton's speech on race relations of November 13, 1993 (Murphy 1997); George W. Bush's Goree Island address of July 8, 2003 (Medhurst 2010); and Obama's speech at Notre Dame of March 17, 2009 (Arnett 2011). And these are only a sampling of the major presidential speeches left untouched by this database.…”

“…But this speech was not as "uncommon" as the authors seem to imply. By eliminating, through definition, presidential speeches not delivered to the entire nation, the proposed database overlooks such masterpieces of presidential persuasion as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speech at Gettysburg on July 3, 1938 (Benson 2002); Truman's Navy Day address of October 27, 1945(Underhill 1961); Eisenhower's "Atoms for Peace" speech of December 8, 1953 (Medhurst 1987;Parry-Giles 2006); Kennedy's "American University" address of June 10, 1963 (Kimble 2009); Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" speech of May 22, 1964(Zarefsky 1979 (Arnett 2011). And these are only a sampling of the major presidential speeches left untouched by this database.…”

Waging Peace Through Symphonic Discourse in the Sudan–Uganda Conflicts

“…The public conversations between Russell and North Vietnamese officials, including Ho Chi Minh, opposed US intervention in Vietnam, and supported North and South Vietnam determining their own destiny. Taking a rhetorical approach, Kimble (2009) showed how the use of androgynous rhetoric (both masculine and feminine) by President Kennedy limited his potential success at constructing détente with the Soviets during the Cold War. Such rhetoric is likely to please one audience while inflaming another—an approach unlikely to heal hostile attitudes between adversaries.…”