James Watt's Subversion of Values: An Analysis of Rhetorical Failure
Document Type
Article
Language
eng
Format of Original
12 p.; 24 cm
Publication Date
1985
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Source Publication
Southern Speech Communication Journal
Source ISSN
0361-8269
Original Item ID
doi: 10.1080/10417948509372638; Shelves: PN 4071 .S65 1985 v. 50, Memorial Periodicals
Abstract
Examining why Secretary of the Interior James Watt was forced to resign on October 9, 1983, this essay argues that Watt's rhetorical failure occurred because he violated the sacred values and shibboleths of the American Dream. The essay: (1) establishes a theoretical rationale for the use of American values and their relation to the American Dream as an aid in interpreting Watt's rhetorical failure; (2) focuses on the Watt persona as portrayed by the press, the Administration, and Congress as the primary shapers of constraints which framed Watt's rhetorical situation; (3) submits that the values implicit in Watt's rhetorical failure were rejected through epideictic discourse; and finally, (4) argues that rhetorical failure defined as a breach of decorum and public rejection of the rhetor's values provides an explanation for the Watt affair.
Recommended Citation
Goldzwig, Steven R., "James Watt's Subversion of Values: An Analysis of Rhetorical Failure" (1985). College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications. 388.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/comm_fac/388
Comments
Southern Speech Communication Journal, Vol. 50, No. 4 (1985): 305-326. DOI.