Publications by Lee M Pierce
In the summer of 2010, a national controversy erupted suddenly as a majority of Americans protest... more In the summer of 2010, a national controversy erupted suddenly as a majority of Americans protested the building of an Islamic community center near Ground Zero. In this essay, I suggest the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” controversy makes visible the emergence of a rhetoric of traumatic nationalism that articulates suffering to citizenship and reproduces national crisis through a motif of consecration whose upshot is a conservative, bipartisan moralism. An anti-political discourse of victimization masquerading as a memory discourse of righteous sacrifice, traumatic nationalism serves as an alibi that excuses the United States from answering responsibly for the war on terror and prevents critical examination of the state of the union.
Papers by Lee M Pierce
Stewart described the rally as a "million moderate march" to "spread the timeless message, 'Take ... more Stewart described the rally as a "million moderate march" to "spread the timeless message, 'Take it down a notch for America." 2 Stewart insisted that Beck's event was not a foil 3 but an inspiration to spread his own "clarion call for rationality" as attendees "take to the streets to send a message to our leaders and our national media that says, 'We are here! We…are only here until 6 though, because we have a sitter.'" 4 Indeed, many commentators noted the similarities between Beck and Stewart's messages: "Americans are truly good and care for one another, and that the only way to get through these difficult times is working together." What accounts for this uncharacteristic synergy between Beck and Stewart? Why did these two polarizing political figures coalesce around explicitly anti-political sentiments? What is the rhetorical significance of the rallies for the contemporary national imaginary? the rallies instantiated a different provisional national suture; an insular imperative to "keep calm and carry on." 6 Specifically, I read the rallies of Honor and Sanity and the discourses that circulated about them in order to suggest that they effected a rhetoric of bureaucratic nationalism with two distinguishing characteristics: one, an anxiety inducing syntax of the historical present dependent on an anachronistic mix of past and present tenses; and, two, figures of enumeration or extended lists that re-order a concessional rather than convicted American ethos.
In light of the recent body of scholarship that has emerged on the nature of reconciliation and t... more In light of the recent body of scholarship that has emerged on the nature of reconciliation and the public apology, this essay forwards two theses: first, that reconciliation is the name of an impossible, but necessary, aporetic experience of forgiveness and retribution and, second, that the public apology, as currently theorized, is the name of an economic logic that, while possibly serving a ritual function, is always already in service of the sovereignty of law and the nation state, but not of reconciliation. Through a deconstructive reading of the conversation on reconciliation and public apology, this essay attempts to productively investigate the economies and desires at work in our own field as they express/constitute structures of privilege.
The staying power of consensus amidst the strong critical turn in rhetorical scholarship has beco... more The staying power of consensus amidst the strong critical turn in rhetorical scholarship has become the point of departure for a growing interest in dissensus, proliferation, and localization as the new sites of radical democratic change. While sympathetic to such a project, this I argue in this presentation that rhetorical scholarship on embodied place and proliferating publics takes for granted its own dia[u]retic production; an economy of division or politics of scale that shores up a commitment to localism as a revolutionary political practice. By enumerating these various logics of reproduction, my hope is to provide a point of departure for continued engagement with difficult questions of politics, rhetoric, the one, and the many.
Drafts by Lee M Pierce
Teaching Documents by Lee M Pierce
Public speaking is the practical art of self-discovery and world-making through performances that... more Public speaking is the practical art of self-discovery and world-making through performances that derive from the creation and delivery of personal, professional, and civic presentations. Students will craft and critique rhetorical acts—strategic symbolic attempts to overcome the challenges in a given situation to connect with a specific audience on a given issue to achieve a particular end. The course will emphasize a rhetorical perspective, stylistic sophistication, thematic coherence, creative evidence and dynamic delivery. The classroom experience depends on a hands-on approach including guided rehearsal, self-assessment, and immediate feedback. 3(3-0). Offered each semester.
As we become fully immersed in what many are calling " the visual age, " we need to be able to ac... more As we become fully immersed in what many are calling " the visual age, " we need to be able to act as critical consumers and producers of media that saturate our lives. This course engages that problem while pushing back against the tendency to assume that " new " media cannot be studied through classic principles of style, composition, and design. This class will introduce students to several strategies for critiquing and producing visual media including juxtaposition, pose, figure, metaphor, composition, duration, rhythm, montage, foregrounding, and stream-of-consciousness. In order to learn to apply and utilize these visual strategies, students will practice weekly critical projects and undertake creative projects dealing in both still and moving images. Throughout the course, we will approach visual culture as a site of convergence for power and privilege; students will not only engage with the forms of images but also their power to shape our consciousness and unequally distribute social hierarchies.
Courses: 6 – 12 or College, Public Speaking, Introduction to Communication
Objective: Students wi... more Courses: 6 – 12 or College, Public Speaking, Introduction to Communication
Objective: Students will be persuaded of the strategic and ethical advantages of effectively constructing and deploying extended analogies in their communication, especially speeches of self-introduction.
Keywords: Analogy, Extended Metaphors, Communication, Public Speaking, Ethics
Awards by Lee M Pierce
Talks by Lee M Pierce
Uploads
Publications by Lee M Pierce
Papers by Lee M Pierce
Drafts by Lee M Pierce
Teaching Documents by Lee M Pierce
Objective: Students will be persuaded of the strategic and ethical advantages of effectively constructing and deploying extended analogies in their communication, especially speeches of self-introduction.
Keywords: Analogy, Extended Metaphors, Communication, Public Speaking, Ethics
Awards by Lee M Pierce
Talks by Lee M Pierce
Objective: Students will be persuaded of the strategic and ethical advantages of effectively constructing and deploying extended analogies in their communication, especially speeches of self-introduction.
Keywords: Analogy, Extended Metaphors, Communication, Public Speaking, Ethics