Mary Stuckey, Penn State University, will deliver the 2019 J. Jeffrey Auer Lecture in Rhetoric, Writing, and Communication, on Thursday, February 28, at 5:30pm, in the IMU Maple Room.
The title of her talk is: "The Power of the Presidency to Hurt: The Indecorous Rhetoric of Donald J. Trump."
Professor Stuckey will discuss Donald Trump’s public discourse, with specific attention to the kinds of rhetoric that are enabled by a short-term self-directed ethos, focusing on Trump as both an agent who willfully chooses this discourse and as a node who extends a discourse that is more broadly available. She will focus on four basic characteristics, all of them damaging both to their immediate targets and to the broader polity, and will conclude with some thoughts about what this means for the polity as a whole.
Professor Stuckey has published a dozen books and numerous essays, and is finishing her term as editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech, one of the oldest and most prestigious journals in rhetoric studies.
Please join us for what promises to be an engaging presentation and a lively conversation.
For graduate students, there also is an informal "brownbag" conversation with Professor Stuckey scheduled for Wednesday, February 27, 1:00pm to 2:30pm, in the IMU Distinguished Alumni room. Snacks will be provided.