Writing Bruce into Memory
My last telephone conversation with Bruce took place in June of 2014 as he was recovering from the ravaging consequences of a systemic infection. I had some diffıculty understanding Bruce during that conversation because his jaw muscles had deteriorated during his illness. Yet, he was characteristically cheerful and optimistic about traveling to Iowa City in October for the celebration of his life’s work and his lecture on Jacob Riis. He chatted amiably about his book project on Riis and his frustrations with delays in completing the work. The only concession he made to his weakened condition was his new travel arrangement: “I won’t be going anywhere without Wendy, anymore.” Later that summer, he emailed me to say that he and Wendy had purchased their airline tickets for the 2014 National Communication Association convention in Chicago; we arranged to have dinner on November 21. I entered the date in my calendar and considered it a promissory note that Bruce was going to recover from his near-death experience. I relaxed my vigil. And then he was gone. I fırst met Bruce in June of 1981 when I traveled from Alabama to Iowa City as a newly admitted doctoral student to fınd housing and to acquaint myself with the teaching faculty of the rhetorical studies program. Planning to demonstrate my respect for the occasion, I dressed carefully, much as I would have done for a church service in the Deep South. I recall the homemade beige linen frock and maroon platform heels. Carol Schrage, the venerable departmental secretary, welcomed me to the program and sent me to Bruce’s offıce. On my way there, I passed by an offıce where a heavyset
New Directions in Political Communication: A Resource Book
The Field of Political Communication - Dan Nimmo and David Swanson Beyond the Voter Persuasion Paradigm PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION - POLITICAL LANGUAGE AND POLITICAL LEARNING Language and Politics - Paul E Corcoran Election Campaigns as Occasions for Civic Education - Richard A Joslyn PART TWO: TOWARD A BROADENED UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICAL MESSAGES The Construction of Everyday Life - David Morley Political Communication and Domestic Media News and Politics - Dennis K Davis Popular Culture, Media, and Political Communication - Bruce E Gronbeck PART THREE: THE INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE The Rhetoric of Political Institutions - Craig Allen Smith and Kathy B Smith Political Communication in Decision-Making Groups - Michael W Mansfield Comparative Research - Michael Gurevitch and Jay G Blumler The Extending Frontier PART FOUR: RECENT POLITICAL COMMUNICATION RESEARCH - A REVIEW AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Trends in Political Communication - Anne Johnston Wadsworth A Selective Review of Research in the 1980s Selective Bibliography of Political Communication Research 1982-1988 - Anne Johnston Wadsworth
Continents of Liberty: Emerson and Gerald Vizenor’s Chair of Tears
Ralph Waldo Emerson protested what came to be known as the Trail of Tears in a public letter to President Martin Van Buren in 1838. Th e Cherokee Nation, he argued, had been cheated by a “sham treaty” (Emerson, “Letter” 50), the will of the people ignored, and a false acquiescence to removal written into law. In making a passionate appeal to the highest “chair” of the land, Emerson underscored the great political and moral stakes involved: