Rhetorical Leadership – Dr Dennis Grube
What our political leaders say matters. Political rhetoric is sometimes derided in popular discourse as nothing more than ‘empty words’, but those words give shape to our perceptions of political reality. Words are powerful things. This course will examine the role played by political rhetoric in democratic countries, and in particular the ways in which leaders use rhetoric to give shape to policy debates, to draw distinctions with political opponents, and to unify the nation during a crisis. The ability to communicate persuasively at multiple levels emerges as one of the central traits expected of modern leaders.