Baylor > Political Science > People > Faculty > Martin J. Medhurst

Martin J. Medhurst

Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Communication
Professor of Political Science

Education:
B.A., Wheaton College
M.A., Northern Illinois University
Ph.D., Penn State University

Courses at Baylor:

PSC 4310 Politics and Communication:
The dynamic relationships between political and communication institutions; topics include political discourse, news and information, and portrayal of politics in popular entertainment.

PSC 4335 Public Discourse and Foreign Policy:
An analytic approach to the discourse generated by United States foreign policy in the post-World War II era. Topics covered include the nature of public opinion and foreign policy, rhetorical and political constraints on foreign policy discourse, and in-depth analysis of the arguments for and against the conflict in Vietnam.

PSC 4340 African American Communication:
Rhetorical strategies of African Americans, focusing on the historically important documents of oratory, argumentation, homiletic, and narrative.

PSC 5350 Seminar in Presidential Rhetoric:
Survey of the genres of presidential rhetoric and theories of the rhetorical presidency; critical analysis of presidential discourse in selected eras, with focus on texts in context; and methods of evaluating presidential communication.

CSS 4351 Criticism of Contemporary Public Address: (pending)
Significant public speeches in contemporary society, with emphasis on applying principles and methods of rhetorical criticism.

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