Denise M Bostdorff
Biographic Data
| ID | 4618794 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Denise M Bostdorff |
| GIVEN NAMES | Denise M |
| FAMILY NAME | Bostdorff |
| SIGNATURE | BOSTDORFF D M |
| AFFILIATIONS | College of Wooster |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1185-7723 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 31 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Rhetoric of Prophetic Dualism
This article argues that President Harry Truman employed two St. Patrick’s Day speeches in March 1948 to advance a new role for the United States in global relations. Through an early form of prophetic dualism that evoked crisis, identified and condemned Soviet transgressions, and invoked realism, he advanced an argument that reinforced American exceptionalism, reinvigorated religious nationalism, heightened his authority, and discouraged debate.…
The World Is Our Stage
Figure 0.1 of Allison M. Prasch’s The World Is Our Stage displays the average number of countries visited per year by each American presidential administration from 1906 to present. The most traveled president? George W. Bush, who averaged 17.5 countries per year. As Denise Bostdorff highlights in this forum, according to the data currently available, he is history’s most traveled American president.Bush visited seventy-three countries across his…
Barack Obama’s Eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, June 26, 2015
In his eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, President Obama responded to postracial claims in the United States and to criticism that he had not done enough for black Americans by drawing on grace as the vehicle for collective salvation and his own agency on civil rights. Eulogizing Pinckney as a man of faith and grace, Obama affırmed the black church’s dual focus on religious faith and collective civil rights action as exemplary of American civil …
Religion, Sport, and the Return of the Prodigal Son
In 2010, LeBron James, “The Chosen One,” humiliated Northeast Ohio by announcing on nationwide television that he was leaving the Cavaliers to play for Miami. James announced his return to Cleveland four years later through an open letter that set off euphoria in the region. This essay offers a postsecular framework to explain: (1) how James’s messianic image established a context in which his departure, in tandem with the way he announced his de…
Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change
Research Article| December 01 2017 Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff is Professor of Communication at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2017) 20 (4): 695–706. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.4.0695 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedI…
Prairie Forge
Book Review| March 01 2016 Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II. By James J. Kimble. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2014; pp. xv + 217. $19.95 paper. Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff College of Wooster Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2016…
Blackwell Companions to American History
A Companion to Harry Truman (ACHT) aims to provide an overview of scholarship that situates the Truman administration's policies and their long-term impact, as well as Harry Truman the man and politician himself, within U.S. and world history. In this regard, it has much to offer, with a series of 27 chapters written by eminent scholars, mostly historians and a few political scientists.Part I, “Considering Truman in Historical Perspective,” conta…
John F. Kennedy at American University
In his American University address, Kennedy employed epideictic progression, a pedagogical process drawing upon dissociation and epideictic norms to convince listeners, gradually, to embrace a new vision—in this case, a world in which a test-ban treaty with the U.S.S.R. was possible. To do so, Kennedy's words: (1) united the audience behind the value of “genuine peace”; (2) humanized the Soviets as worthy partners in genuine peace; (3) establishe…
Decision 2012
The Communication Monographs Cafe opened its doors for the fifth time on November 6, 2012. In the previous openings of the cafe (social justice and public scholarship in Volume 78, Issue 2; communi
Inside the Nixon Administration
Book Review| March 01 2012 Inside the Nixon Administration: The Secret Diary of Arthur Burns, 1969-1974 Inside the Nixon Administration: The Secret Diary of Arthur Burns, 1969-1974. Robert H. Ferrell. Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2012) 15 (1): 173–176. https://doi.org/10.2307/41955611 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo …
Epideictic Rhetoric in the Service of War
This essay explores the relationship between epideictic discourse and war through the analysis of George W. Bush's August 20, 2005, address at the Naval Air Station near San Diego, ostensibly to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan. The case also serves as an exemplar for how Bush routinely interwove epideictic appeals with collective memories of World War II in order to promote the Iraq war and deflect criticism of h…
George W. Bush's post-September 11 rhetoric of covenant renewal
The appeal of Bush's post-September 11 discourse lies in its similarities with the Puritan rhetoric of covenant renewal by which ministers brought second- and third-generation Puritans into the church. Through this epideictic discourse, Bush implored younger Americans to uphold the national covenant of their “elders,” the World War II generation, through support of the war on terrorism, and he revitalized the faith of the older generation. Bush's…
The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis
Journal Article The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis. By Denise M. Bostdorff. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. xii, 306 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-87249-968-5.) Get access Brigitte Nacos Brigitte Nacos Columbia University, New York, New York Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 81, Issue 4, March 1995, Pages 1831–1832, https://doi.org/10.2307/2081850 …
Making light of James Watt
This essay demonstrates the applicability of Brukean concepts to political cartoons. More specifically, it examines a sample of eighty‐three James Watt cartoons and explains: (a) the formal strategy of perspective by incongruity employed in political cartoons; (b) the attitude of rejection or burlesque typically exemplified by the art form; and (c) the fusion of form and attitude in the tropes of metaphor, irony, synecdoche, and metonymy, which s…
George W. Bush's post-September 11 rhetoric of covenant renewal
The appeal of Bush's post-September 11 discourse lies in its similarities with the Puritan rhetoric of covenant renewal by which ministers brought second- and third-generation Puritans into the church. Through this epideictic discourse, Bush implored younger Americans to uphold the national covenant of their “elders,” the World War II generation, through support of the war on terrorism, and he revitalized the faith of the older generation. Bush's…
Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change
Research Article| December 01 2017 Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff is Professor of Communication at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2017) 20 (4): 695–706. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.4.0695 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedI…
Making light of James Watt
This essay demonstrates the applicability of Brukean concepts to political cartoons. More specifically, it examines a sample of eighty‐three James Watt cartoons and explains: (a) the formal strategy of perspective by incongruity employed in political cartoons; (b) the attitude of rejection or burlesque typically exemplified by the art form; and (c) the fusion of form and attitude in the tropes of metaphor, irony, synecdoche, and metonymy, which s…
Epideictic Rhetoric in the Service of War
This essay explores the relationship between epideictic discourse and war through the analysis of George W. Bush's August 20, 2005, address at the Naval Air Station near San Diego, ostensibly to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan. The case also serves as an exemplar for how Bush routinely interwove epideictic appeals with collective memories of World War II in order to promote the Iraq war and deflect criticism of h…
The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis
Journal Article The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis. By Denise M. Bostdorff. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. xii, 306 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-87249-968-5.) Get access Brigitte Nacos Brigitte Nacos Columbia University, New York, New York Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 81, Issue 4, March 1995, Pages 1831–1832, https://doi.org/10.2307/2081850 …
Religion, Sport, and the Return of the Prodigal Son
In 2010, LeBron James, “The Chosen One,” humiliated Northeast Ohio by announcing on nationwide television that he was leaving the Cavaliers to play for Miami. James announced his return to Cleveland four years later through an open letter that set off euphoria in the region. This essay offers a postsecular framework to explain: (1) how James’s messianic image established a context in which his departure, in tandem with the way he announced his de…
Decision 2012
The Communication Monographs Cafe opened its doors for the fifth time on November 6, 2012. In the previous openings of the cafe (social justice and public scholarship in Volume 78, Issue 2; communi
Making light of James Watt
This essay demonstrates the applicability of Brukean concepts to political cartoons. More specifically, it examines a sample of eighty‐three James Watt cartoons and explains: (a) the formal strategy of perspective by incongruity employed in political cartoons; (b) the attitude of rejection or burlesque typically exemplified by the art form; and (c) the fusion of form and attitude in the tropes of metaphor, irony, synecdoche, and metonymy, which s…
The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis
Journal Article The Presidency and the Rhetoric of Foreign Crisis. By Denise M. Bostdorff. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. xii, 306 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-87249-968-5.) Get access Brigitte Nacos Brigitte Nacos Columbia University, New York, New York Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 81, Issue 4, March 1995, Pages 1831–1832, https://doi.org/10.2307/2081850 …
George W. Bush's post-September 11 rhetoric of covenant renewal
The appeal of Bush's post-September 11 discourse lies in its similarities with the Puritan rhetoric of covenant renewal by which ministers brought second- and third-generation Puritans into the church. Through this epideictic discourse, Bush implored younger Americans to uphold the national covenant of their “elders,” the World War II generation, through support of the war on terrorism, and he revitalized the faith of the older generation. Bush's…
Epideictic Rhetoric in the Service of War
This essay explores the relationship between epideictic discourse and war through the analysis of George W. Bush's August 20, 2005, address at the Naval Air Station near San Diego, ostensibly to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Japan. The case also serves as an exemplar for how Bush routinely interwove epideictic appeals with collective memories of World War II in order to promote the Iraq war and deflect criticism of h…
Inside the Nixon Administration
Book Review| March 01 2012 Inside the Nixon Administration: The Secret Diary of Arthur Burns, 1969-1974 Inside the Nixon Administration: The Secret Diary of Arthur Burns, 1969-1974. Robert H. Ferrell. Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2012) 15 (1): 173–176. https://doi.org/10.2307/41955611 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo …
Decision 2012
The Communication Monographs Cafe opened its doors for the fifth time on November 6, 2012. In the previous openings of the cafe (social justice and public scholarship in Volume 78, Issue 2; communi
John F. Kennedy at American University
In his American University address, Kennedy employed epideictic progression, a pedagogical process drawing upon dissociation and epideictic norms to convince listeners, gradually, to embrace a new vision—in this case, a world in which a test-ban treaty with the U.S.S.R. was possible. To do so, Kennedy's words: (1) united the audience behind the value of “genuine peace”; (2) humanized the Soviets as worthy partners in genuine peace; (3) establishe…
Blackwell Companions to American History
A Companion to Harry Truman (ACHT) aims to provide an overview of scholarship that situates the Truman administration's policies and their long-term impact, as well as Harry Truman the man and politician himself, within U.S. and world history. In this regard, it has much to offer, with a series of 27 chapters written by eminent scholars, mostly historians and a few political scientists.Part I, “Considering Truman in Historical Perspective,” conta…
Prairie Forge
Book Review| March 01 2016 Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II Prairie Forge: The Extraordinary Story of the Nebraska Scrap Metal Drive of World War II. By James J. Kimble. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2014; pp. xv + 217. $19.95 paper. Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff College of Wooster Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2016…
Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change
Research Article| December 01 2017 Obama, Trump, and Reflections on the Rhetoric of Political Change Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff Denise M. Bostdorff is Professor of Communication at the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Rhetoric and Public Affairs (2017) 20 (4): 695–706. https://doi.org/10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.4.0695 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedI…
Religion, Sport, and the Return of the Prodigal Son
In 2010, LeBron James, “The Chosen One,” humiliated Northeast Ohio by announcing on nationwide television that he was leaving the Cavaliers to play for Miami. James announced his return to Cleveland four years later through an open letter that set off euphoria in the region. This essay offers a postsecular framework to explain: (1) how James’s messianic image established a context in which his departure, in tandem with the way he announced his de…
Barack Obama’s Eulogy for the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, June 26, 2015
In his eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, President Obama responded to postracial claims in the United States and to criticism that he had not done enough for black Americans by drawing on grace as the vehicle for collective salvation and his own agency on civil rights. Eulogizing Pinckney as a man of faith and grace, Obama affırmed the black church’s dual focus on religious faith and collective civil rights action as exemplary of American civil …
The World Is Our Stage
Figure 0.1 of Allison M. Prasch’s The World Is Our Stage displays the average number of countries visited per year by each American presidential administration from 1906 to present. The most traveled president? George W. Bush, who averaged 17.5 countries per year. As Denise Bostdorff highlights in this forum, according to the data currently available, he is history’s most traveled American president.Bush visited seventy-three countries across his…
The Rhetoric of Prophetic Dualism
This article argues that President Harry Truman employed two St. Patrick’s Day speeches in March 1948 to advance a new role for the United States in global relations. Through an early form of prophetic dualism that evoked crisis, identified and condemned Soviet transgressions, and invoked realism, he advanced an argument that reinforced American exceptionalism, reinvigorated religious nationalism, heightened his authority, and discouraged debate.…
Law (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Law (10 works) · Rhetoric and Communication Studies (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · Rhetoric (9 works) · Theology (9 works) · History (7 works)