Presidential discourses of "womanhood": Rethinking the rhetorical situation

Mary Keehner, Purdue University

Abstract

This study examines presidential discourse in order to illumine how presidents portray women and women's roles in society. Such an analysis of presidential rhetoric offers insight not only into how presidents portray women, but also, given the key rhetorical role of the presidency, into the images of women and values assigned to them that are dominant in American society. Additionally, this study illustrates the utility of adopting a pragmatist feminist approach to rhetorical theory and criticism, in particular its contributions to contemporary understandings of "the rhetorical situation."

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Bostdorff, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Communication|Womens studies

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