PSCI-332.401/COMM-331:
Talking Politics: Discourse and Rhetoric in American Politics
CWiC Critical Speaking Seminar, Fall 2009
Mondays 3:00-6:00 p.m.
Instructor: Meredith Wooten, mwooten@sas.upenn.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
This course will provide an introduction to the role of political communication in the American
political process. We will consider the changing relationship between deliberation, discourse,
and rhetoric over the course of American political development. Readings will incorporate a
variety of theoretical, historical, and political perspectives to examine the role of language and
discourse in shaping political outcomes. This course will emphasize textual and oral
communication as part of examining the primary topics and issues raised in the assigned
readings. Topics include: agenda-setting, deliberative processes, public opinion formation,
censorship and free speech, the role of the media, social movement discourse, and the “rhetorical
advantage” of political elites.
This is a Critical Speaking Seminar. Readings and assignments are designed to help students
reflect on and build their own skills as observers of and participants in forms of public discourse
and debate. These assignments are intended to be fun and creative so that inexperienced or
nervous speakers will be encouraged to participate and reflect on the importance of good
communications skills. Requirements will include: meeting with a speaking advisor outside of
class to prepare speaking assignments; preparing and receiving peer feedback; and reviewing a
video recording of one of your presentations. Additional details and information about CWiC
Critical Speaking courses and other programs can be found at www.sas.upenn.edu/cwic
Course Objectives
This is not a traditional course on political communication and discourse. Instead, we will learn
how to think critically about the role and development of political discourse in America and apply
this knowledge through assignments intended to develop and improve skills associated with public
speaking and observation. Course objectives include:
 To develop and improve skills for the preparation and delivery of oral presentations.
 To learn and apply skills for critical observation and feedback.
 To examine the demands of typical public speaking formats: making introductions, posing
and answering questions, using PowerPoint, presenting ideas, teaching, and communicating
your opinion.
 To consider definitions and uses of democracy and the public sphere.
 To introduce students to a range of contemporary theoretical approaches to questions of
political discourse, culture, and communication.
 To give students a range of analytical tools with which they develop research questions and
carry out analysis of discursive texts and performances.
The Communication Within the Curriculum (CWiC) program at Penn
The Communication Within the Curriculum (CWiC) program at Penn is dedicated to developing and
refining the public speaking skills of undergraduate students. CWiC-affiliated courses integrate oral
communication assignments and discussions on topical issues in order to help students become
better public speakers and learners. Talking Politics is one of only two CWiC critical speaking
seminars. The readings and assignments will allow us to engage with questions about the nature
and development of political communication over the course of American history. We will also
explore the significance of these developments in a variety of speaking assignments.
There are no prerequisites for this course. The readings and assignments are intended to be fun and
creative so that inexperienced or nervous speakers will be encouraged to participate and reflect on
the importance of good communications skills.
Students will have an opportunity to work with a CWiC adviser to prepare speaking assignments
and to improve specific communication skills according to individual needs and goals. At least one
presentation by each student will be recorded and later reviewed with the CWiC adviser.
Additionally, students are encouraged but not required to take advantage of CWiC workshops
offered throughout the semester. Details and more information on other CWiC programs can be
found at www.sas.upenn.edu/cwic.
Course Format and Grading
This class will meet weekly. The format of the class will vary according to weekly assignments, but
will generally include a short lecture, discussion of the assigned readings, and individual or group
speaking activities. Depending on class interest, we may invite speakers to the class for brief
presentations or workshops on topics related to public speaking and listening skills. Due to the
nature of oral communication assignments, no late work will be accepted.
Class participation (20%): Students are expected to attend class regularly, complete assigned
readings before class, participate in discussions and in-class activities, and participate as active
observers during other students’ speaking assignments. In addition to our weekly seminar, you are
required to meet with a designated CWiC-trained peer advisor periodically throughout the
semester, in connection with speaking assignments. You are responsible for scheduling and
attending these meetings. We will discuss these meetings and expectations for participation in
class.
Peer review (20%): Improving your listening and observation skills will make you a better
communicator. Through active audience participation and peer review, you will gain a new
perspective on public speaking and communication. This will help you provide and use feedback
more effectively. You are responsible for conducting peer review of other students’ speaking
assignments twice during the semester. We will discuss the details of these assignments in class.
In-class speaking assignments (40%): In addition to the weekly readings and a preliminary
diagnostic speaking assignment, there are four oral communication assignments, each worth 10%
of your final grade. The assignments range from individual presentations to small panel
presentations to debate. Specific requirements and expectations for each assignment will be
discussed in class.
 Sept. 28 & Oct 5.** “Response” presentation #1: In a 5-minute presentation, you will tell the
class about a recent event or news item that illustrates the role of political communication
in contemporary American politics or a theme from the week’s readings. Be prepared to
discuss how the story was reported through at least two of four media sources: television,
newspaper, radio, & internet. Four students will volunteer to present each week.
 October 12. “Proposal” Assignment: Present your research topic and field questions. You
must meet with your CWiC advisor to prepare for this presentation.
 November 2 & 9.** Response presentation #2: In a 5-10 minute presentation, you will
interpret and present an iconic political speech, debate, or text. Explain its significance, why
it is effective, who it appeals to, and through what means. Incorporate images, sound or
textual examples into presentation. Students may use PowerPoint, but slides should
illustrate and enhance the presentations, not substitute for oral communication.
 November 23: Group “Campaign” Assignment: You will be divided into groups and assigned
to alter and update the political campaign of an unsuccessful presidential candidate from
pre-2000 for the 2012 election. Groups must maintain the basic agenda/platform, political
positions, and images from the campaign, but can revise or innovate new slogans,
arguments, narratives, etc. Students should collaborate on all aspects of the project, but will
select to present only one of the required elements: 1) write and deliver two short 90second commercial voiceover texts (1 positive, 1 negative); 2) write and deliver a 5-minute,
abbreviated “stump speech”; 3) participate in a mock presidential debate or interview with
an opposing group (5-10 minutes). The class will spend the remainder of the session
discussing the presentations: impressions, what they did well/poorly, and connections to
the readings.
** The class will be split over these two assignments.
Final paper and presentation (20%): In October, each student will select a major trend in
political communication. With reference to course themes, you will provide a critical analysis of this
trend and discuss potential implications for American politics in the future. You should aim to make
an original contribution to our understanding of American political discourse and development by
incorporating arguments and theories from the assigned readings with current political events and
trends. At the end of the semester, we will hold a mock conference on trends in American political
communication. Each student will present his or her paper and field questions. The presentations
will be organized into thematic panels and the panel chairs will introduce the speakers. You will
meet with your CWiC advisor to prepare for this presentation.
Course Topics, Readings, and Oral Presentation Assignments
This course has one required text available for purchase at the Penn Bookstore:
Bennett, W. L. & Entman, Robert M., eds. 2001. Mediated Politics: Communications in the
Future of Democracy. Cambridge Univ.
All other readings will be posted electronically to our Blackboard site or are available online. Some
recommended texts will be placed on reserve at the Rosengarten Reserve Desk in Van Pelt Library.
**All presentations will be video-taped and made available for your review by appointment or online.
September 14. Introduction
Course introduction & syllabus; forms and settings of oral communication; grading discussion;
overview of political discourse in America, introduction to development of political communication
Part I. Ideals of Political Discourse in America
September 21. Visions of Democratic Discourse
Speaking Assignment (Diagnostic): Introduction, videotaped for review.
Readings: selections from Mill, On Liberty; Federalist Papers; Thomas Paine, Common Sense; and
founding documents: Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution
Discussion questions: What role should ideas and discourse play in American democracy? What are
the main safeguards for and barriers against achieving this goal? Who and what should be
included in political discourse and debate?
Communication discussion: introductions; effective participation in group discussions; active
listening.
September 28. Contemporary debates
Speaking assignment (10%): Response #1
Readings: Gutmann & Thomson, Democracy and Disagreement, “Introduction” and Chapter 1; S.
Macedo, Deliberative Politics, “Introduction”, Chapters 2 & 11; Mediated Politics, Chapters 1,
7, & 19.
Discussion questions: What is at stake in the debate between theorists of deliberative and
participatory democracy? Which arguments do you find more compelling? Why? Is there a
necessary tension between these two visions of democratic politics?
Communication Discussion: Strategies for speaking with confidence
Part II. Transformations in Political Communication
October 5. Communication and discourse in early America
Readings: selections from Tocqueville, Democracy in America; Smith, R., “Introduction”, Civic Ideals;
Starr, The Creation of the Media, chapter 2; Fishkin, The Voice of the People: Public Opinion
and Democracy, Introduction and Chapter 5.
Recommended: Gorman, L. & D. McLean. Media and Society in the Twentieth Century: A
Historical Introduction
Discussion questions: In what ways did early forms of communication foster democratic practices
and participation? How should we think about early arguments and themes in popular
political discourse that now seem patently undemocratic?
Communication Discussion: CWiC advisor introduction & workshop on PowerPoint
October 12: Media transformations and social movements
Speaking Assignment (10%): Response 2
*You must schedule meetings with your CWiC advisor before Fall Break begins.
Readings: Starr, The Creation of the Media, chapter 3; Morone, Hellfire Nation, chapter 2; Loomis,
“The Politics of Uncertainty: Lobbyists and Propaganda in Early Twentieth-Century
America”; Feldstein, Mark. “A Muckraking Model: Investigative Reporting Cycles in
American History.”
Discussion questions: How did the spread of information through new media sources change
American political movements and debates around the turn of the century? In what way (if
any) do changes in forms of communication and the media affect political progress and
social movements?
Communication Discussion: Timing in preparation and delivery, organizational strategies
October 19: No Class (Fall Break)
October 26: Research Topic Workshop
Speaking Assignment (10%): “Proposal.”
Readings: selected chapters from Mediated Politics.
Communication Discussion: Peer review.
November 2: The Country and Media at War
Speaking Assignment: “Opinion” (10%) & Peer Review (10%).
Readings: Whitman, “Drum Taps”; Horten, Gerd. Radio Goes to War: The Cultural Politics of
Propaganda During World War II, Introduction and chapter 4; Doherty, Cold War, Cool
Medium, Chapters 1, 8-9 (also on reserve); Hallin, “The Media, the War in Vietnam, and
Political Support”; Althaus, et al. “Marking Success, Criticizing Failure, and Rooting for ‘Our’
Side: The Tone of American War News from Verdun to Baghdad.”
Recommended: Hallin, The Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam; Hixson, Walter L.
Parting the Curtain: Propaganda, Culture, and the Cold War, 1945-1961
Discussion questions: How does popular discourse and debate change during times of war? How
has the government used popular media and consumption to influence public opinion and
support for war? Did television and investigative reporting change the ways Americans
viewed and responded to war?
Optional video screening: Good Night, and Good Luck.
Communication Discussion: Question & answer strategies; conveying enthusiasm.
November 9: Post-War America, public opinion, and the mass media
Readings: Igo, The Averaged American, pp.1-22, 281-300; Rottinghaus, “Opening the President's
Mailbag: The Nixon Administration's Rhetorical Use of Public Opinion Mail.”; Putnam,
“Tuning in, Tuning out: The strange disappearance of social capital”; Norris, “Does
Television Erode Social Capital? A Response to Putnam”;
Recommended: Putnam, Bowling Alone; Verba, Schlozman & Brady, Voice and Equality;. M.
Edelman, Constructing the Political Spectacle
Discussion questions: What role does public opinion play in modern American politics? How has
this role changed over time? (How) did the rise of television in the post-war era change the
nature of political communication and civic engagement?
Communication Discussion: Debates and interviews
November 16: Liberalism Triumphant? Social movements, media, and discourse
Speaking assignment: Mock Campaigns (10%; half the class) & Peer review (10%; half the class).
Readings: Lee, T. Mobilizing Public Opinion: Black Insurgency and Racial Attitudes in the Civil Rights
Era, Chapter 6; Barber, B. Jihad vs McWorld, pp.3-22, 219-60; Dunlap, et al. “Twenty Years of
Environmental Mobilization.”; Cottle, “Reporting Demonstrations: The changing media
politics of dissent”; Stein, “Social movement web use in theory and practice”; Soule & Olzak.
“When Do Movements Matter? The Politics of Contingency and the Equal Rights
Amendment.”
Discussion questions: Does one set of actors always or usually set the political agenda? How is this
possible? What role did forms of communication and democratic ideals play in political
transformations and movements during the latter half of the 20th Century?
Communication Discussion: academic talks and panel presentations.
November 23: New Media and the future of Mediated Politics
Speaking Assignment: Mock Campaigns (10%; half the class) & Peer review (10%; half the class).
Readings: selected passages from C. Sunstein, Republic.com; Scheuer, The Sound Bite Society. Cho,
Political Ads and Citizen Communication; Vaccari, “From the air to the ground: the internet
in the 2004 US presidential campaign.”
Communication Discussion: Discussion of final presentations. You must meet with your CWiC
advisor for the final presentation.
Part III. Mock Conference
November 30: Final presentations (15%, half the class; Peer review 10%, half the class)
December 7: Final Presentations (15%, half the class; Peer review 10%, half the class)
December XX: 9-11 a.m. (Final exam period) Course Wrap-Up