Content Analysis as Rhetorical EEG of the Presidency

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Author(s): Ken Collier (Stephen F. Austin State University, USA)
Copyright: 2014
Pages: 20
Source title: Communication and Language Analysis in the Public Sphere
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Roderick P. Hart (University of Texas - Austin, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-5003-9.ch011

Keywords: Communications Theory / Information Science Reference / Literacy and Language Studies / Media & Communications

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Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) tracks voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current flows within the neurons of the brain by recording electrical activity along the scalp to reveal what regions of the brain are involved in different mental processes. This chapter demonstrates how DICTION can be used to measure the fluctuations in the rhetoric in drafts of presidential speeches as they move through the White House speech drafting and review process. This chapter incorporates rhetorical analysis of 494 drafts of 67 presidential speeches gathered from the archives of administrations from Franklin Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush. Like the EEG, looking at the fluctuations in rhetorical scores may not reveal exactly what the thoughts are in the process, but it can reveal how a speech’s language changes over the course of the speechwriting process and help us unravel the mysteries of the inner-workings of this vital institution.

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Content Analysis as Rhetorical EEG of the Presidency

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