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2 Literature Review 3
2.1 Studies on rhetoric abroad 3
2.2 Studies on rhetoric at home 4
3 Theoretical Framework and Methodology 5
3.1 Theoretical Framework 5
3.2 Methodology 5
3.2.1 Research Questions 5
3.2.2 Data Collection and Research Procedures 5
4 Aristotelian Rhetoric Applied in Weekly Addresses by Obama 6
4.1 Studies on Obama’s Weekly Addresses 6
4.2 Language Rhetoric Applied in Weekly Addresses 6
4.2.1 Phonological Rhetoric 7
4.2.2 Lexical Rhetoric 8
4.2.3 Syntactical Rhetoric 10
4.2.4 Textual Rhetoric 12
4.3 Speech Rhetoric Applied in Weekly Addresses 13
4.3.1 Logos 13
4.3.2 Pathos 14
4.3.3 Ethos 15
4.4 Summary 16
5 Conclusion 16
References 18
A Study of Obama’s Weekly Addresses from Aristotle's Rhetoric
1 Introduction
Barack Obama, the 44th president of America, is well known as the first black president of the United State. American presidents used to be white males while Barack Obama ascends the American political stage as a black man for the first time in American history. He is an excellent political orator as well. He is a convincing speaker and fully shows his ability of using such discourse skill during and after the presidential campaign. After winning the position of the president, he delivers weekly addresses about political measures, medical care, foreign affairs and economic measures. As a president he meets with a mixed reception of applause and hisses. However it is no doubt that he is an outstanding public speaker. He has won the support and admiration of both Americans and people in other countries with his speeches in many languages. So why are these speeches so influential and successful? The words used in these speeches are particularly accurate and convincing. Perhaps the most important thing is that these speeches are making full use of rhetorical skills.
“I believe Barack Obama embodies, more than any other politician, the ideals of American eloquence,” says Ekaterina Haskins (2004), professor of rhetoric at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. “He has shown the power of brilliant rhetorical force" says Mr. Collins, a leading writer for the UK's Times newspaper. He also says: “The weakness of Obama's rhetoric so far is that it is so agreeable. There is almost nothing he says with which you can disagree. We need to wait for the big moments, the foreign policy challenges, for the great Obama speeches.”
At present, a great many scholars, both at home and abroad have shown great interest in Obama’s speeches because his words, sentence patterns and linguistic structures are meticulously selected and organized. It is found that current researches related to Barack Obama’s speeches mainly focus on his campaign speeches, victory speeches, inaugural speeches and his speeches during the election. Of these researches, most of them are from the aspects of metaphorical analysis, persuasion strategies and sociological approach. But Obama’s speeches could be better understood by a combined rhetorical analysis. So, there are still many aspects remaining to be studied. This paper aims to explore Obama’s weekly addresses from the perspective of Aristotle's Rhetoric to give a new viewpoint to these addresses. Based on his work, it will be easier to have a better understanding of Obama’s public speaking skills as well as the policies of economy, politics, culture and people's livelihood.