Barack Obama and the rhetoric of American exceptionalism : race, economy, security, and the exceptional rhetorical apparatus of sovereign power.

McVey, J. Alexander.

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dc.contributor	Hahner, Leslie Ann.
dc.contributor	Communication Studies.
dc.contributor	Baylor University. Dept. of Communication Studies.
dc.creator	McVey, J. Alexander.
dc.date	2012-08-08T16:02:28Z
dc.date	2012-08-08T16:02:28Z
dc.date	2012-05
dc.date	2012-08-08
dc.date.accessioned	2022-05-18T12:27:52Z
dc.date.available	2022-05-18T12:27:52Z
dc.identifier	http://hdl.handle.net/2104/8448
dc.identifier.uri	http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/31551
dc.description	This thesis examines President Barack Obama’s use of the rhetoric of American exceptionalism to establish authority for the exercise of sovereign power. I perform a close reading of three speeches to examine how Obama uses American exceptionalism to garner authority on issues of race, the economy, and national security. Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech demonstrates how Obama deploys the rhetoric of American exceptionalism to limit the rhetorical force of racial anger. The 2011 State of the Union illustrates how Obama rhetorically manipulates time to defend neoliberal economics through the rhetoric of American exceptionalism. Obama’s “Our Security, Our Values” speech shows how Obama uses the rhetoric of the rule of law to establish American exceptionalism as a durable rhetorical framework for ongoing actions in the war on terror. Together, these speeches demonstrate the importance of understanding how American exceptionalism functions in Obama’s rhetoric as a foundation for sovereign power.
dc.description	M.A.
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.language	en_US
dc.publisher
dc.rights	Baylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.
dc.rights	Worldwide access.
dc.rights	Access changed 1/13/14.
dc.subject	Sovereign power.
dc.subject	American exceptionalism.
dc.subject	Presidential rhetoric.
dc.subject	Agamben, Giorgio.
dc.subject	Obama, Barack.
dc.title	Barack Obama and the rhetoric of American exceptionalism : race, economy, security, and the exceptional rhetorical apparatus of sovereign power.
dc.type	Thesis