Until recent years oratory was considered a fundamental component of the literature of a nation, and a liberal education implied a knowledge of the great speakers and their principal speeches no less than of the important poems, plays and prose works. For some time, however, the study of literature has been reduced in many places to just two genres: poetry and prose fiction; but of late literary studies have expanded considerably, to include speeches, children's and juvenile literature, historiography, diaries and journals, memoirs, letters, science and fantasy fiction -- even graffiti and inscriptions. Increasingly, papers on Commonwealth speakers are heard at national and international conferences and found in scholarly journals, and the speeches of famous persons are studied with the same intensity as their imaginative works. As a result, rhetorical theories and communication studies have developed rapidly in order to better evaluate speeches, or public address. The papers included in this collection suggest the range of studies of Commonwealth public address: historical, comparative, analytical and survey. They examine the effectiveness of some of the major figures in world affairs: G K Goldhale and B G Tilak (India); Jessie Street and R G Menzies (Australia); Maurice Bishop (Grenada) and Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham (Guyana). In addition, dig consider African and Canadian oratory and the relationship of speeches to history and politics, concluding with a proposed canon of Commonwealth public address.

The period between the 1960s and 1970s is easily one of the most controversial in American history. Examining the liberal movements of the era as well as those that opposed them, this volume offers analyses of the rhetoric of leaders, including those of the civil rights movement, the Chicano movement, the gay rights movement, second-wave feminism, and conservative resistance groups. It also features an introduction that summarizes much of the significant research done by communication scholars on dissent in the 1960s and 1970s. This time period is still a fertile area of study, and this book provides insights into the era that are both provocative and illuminating, making it an essential read for anyone looking to learn more about this time in America.

Canon of Commonwealth Literature

This volume and its predecessor work, The Influence of Rhetoric in the Shaping of Great Britain, constitute the first comprehensive history of public speaking in the British Isles, including full consideration of preaching and religious changes, the growth and influence of parliament, social and labor problems, intellectual controversies, the rights of Ireland and Scotland, and the struggle to attain equality for women.

This book provides original source documents—from firsthand accounts to media responses to legislation—regarding the Chicano movement of the 1960s through 1970s. Readers will understand the key events, individuals, and developments of La Causa: Chicanos uniting to free themselves from exploitation. The 1960s was a time of the burgeoning black Civil Rights movement, when society and politics were divided over the war in Vietnam and public violence became "normal" in the form of police response to protests and assassinations of leaders. It was also a time that witnessed the beginning of a movement to secure justice and rights on behalf of Mexican-Americans and other Latinos. It was the Chicano movement. Documents of the Chicano Movement: Eyewitness to History presents some 50 primary historical documents, each prefaced by a succinct introductory essay. Because the Chicano movement comprised disparate groups and leaders from across the nation, the book will be divided into several sections that acknowledge these separate but connected efforts, each headed by its own introduction. Through its detailed coverage of approximately two decades, the book highlights key topics that include the fight of farm workers to establish a union; the so-called "Land-Grant Struggle" to reclaim areas of the Southwest ceded in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildago; the establishment in New Mexico of the Crusade for Justice, an organization that promoted a nationalistic agenda; the growth of the urban Chicano student movement and its drive for educational reform; the Chicano Antiwar Moratorium protests; and the eventual rise of Chicano political power with the birth of the La Raza Unida Party. The breadth of primary documents include materials from archives, manuscript repositories, newspapers, government documents, public speeches and addresses, first-person accounts from individuals who participated directly in the Chicano movement, legal decisions, pamphlets, and essays. The documents not only tell a vivid, engaging story but also provide students and researchers with valuable resources for use in other works.