D. Ray Heisey

Reagan and Mitterrand Respond to International Crisis: Creating Versus Transcending Appearances.

The argument of this essay is that the form and the function of presidential foreign policy rhetoric are grounded in a nations acceptable images of political reality. To be successful a president may be expected to build certain images of the enemy or certain links to the values implicit in a nations culture and history. The author examines the rhetorical responses of Presidents Reagan and Mitterrand to the terrorist bombing of peace‐keeping forces in Beirut and to the acts of military intervention by the U.S. and France in Grenada and Chad. Whereas Reagan wants to create the appearance of power in responding to a threatening enemy, Mitterrand attempts to transcend the appearance of military involvement by naming what he did as maintaining an “equilibrium” where respect, not power, is the political reality. These differing strategies are clearly related to what the people expect of their leaders.

Equality and the swedish work environment

The tension betweenneed andeffort is at the core of differing interpretations of social equality and inequality. Need-based thinking entails social and economic justice for all within the state regardless of abilities and effort. Effort-based thinking embodies distribution of material resources according to energy expended, abilities, and achievement. The Swedish model for the past five decades has sided with need-based egalitarian mindedness and increasingly has applied that criterion to the quality of working life. Accommodations were made for wealth, a managerial elite, and strong unions. Recently, the country’s overheated economy and pressures for austerity have caused a reassessment of the welfare state.

Authority and Legitimacy: A Rhetorical Case Study of the Iranian Revolution.

The argument of this essay is that the legitimacy crisis in Iran in 1978/79 arose from the contrasting views of authority espoused by the Shah and the Ayatollah over a period of 25 years. These views are expressed in their rhetoric as the two impulses of the Progressive and the Traditionalist orientation of authority. The Pahlavi dynasty is an example of State‐Authority, or the Progressive impulse, while the Islamic revolution is an example of the opposite impulse, Traditionalism, which brought in a People‐Authority with its narrative rationality. Each regime becomes an integral dimension of Irans search for images of national strength. The critical perspective employed in this study may be useful in the analysis of various rhetorical processes, both Western and non‐ Western.

Docudrama from different temporal perspectives: Reactions to NBC's “Kent State”

This paper examines the reactions of three groups of subjects to the NBC docudrama, “Kent State.” The subjects groups were faculty and staff members who were at the university during the time of the actual events and students currently enrolled at Kent State.

The role of Asian women in national development efforts

Abstract The article describes the origin, structure, and functions of the Asian Womens Institute as an international cooperative effort by nationals in Lebanon, Iran, Pakistan, India, Japan and Korea to improve the status of women. Nine womens studies centers located at nine womens colleges and universities are described, showing how research, educational efforts, and community action programs are carried out in the specific culture represented. International cooperation among the centers is facilitated by an international AWI office with a coordinator, a regular publication of activities, and periodic Asian conferences by scholars from participating countries and the United States. The emphasis in all these studies centers and conferences is on the role women can play in improving their status and in assisting in national development.

The rhetoric of Anatoly Sobchak: Rule of law vs nomenklatura?

This essay is a preliminary examination, based on Solomons textual interaction approach, of Anatoly Sobchaks rhetoric in his book For a New Russia. It argues that Sobchaks call for a rule of law in opposition to nomenklatura is a code for Russian nationalism. He uses the democratic strategy and reformist language as a means to obtain a traditional Russian end of power. This process is illustrated in his political campaign to get elected, in his exposure of corruption in the Congress, and in his support of Yeltsins overthrow of the Moscow coup. His text, made to interact with the texts of other readers, discloses an interpretation of Sobchak that does not appear on the surface.

The Scottish tradition in pulpit rhetoric

The Scottish tradition in pulpit rhetoric is characterized by a national habit of emphasis that stresses the kerygmatic view of preaching, a vigorous style and delivery, and a balance between “authority” and “relevance.” These emphases may be seen in the history of the Scottish pulpit as well as in contemporary homiletic theory.

Reflections on A Persian Jewel: Damavand College, Tehran

Abstract: This paper describes the author’s reflections on a personal and professional experience he had 35 years ago in Iran as President of Damavand College, Tehran, Iran from 1975-1978 to lead this young liberal arts college for Iranian women. The author decided to reflect on its mission (it had had a religious heritage),what he had hoped to accomplish, its possible role in the women’s movement and Islamic Reformist Movement, what had happened to its graduates, its teachers, and its friends and supporters. As he reflected on their achievements, he realized that their growth and advancement served as metaphors for his own personal and professional growth into an intercultural person. Because of that experience in Iran, he has dared subsequently to live in other countries and do research and teach in different cultures. He realized that Damavand, named for the highest mountain in Iran, was a symbol of reaching higher heights. Damavand College now had become a living symbol of what had developed as his research agenda in intercultural communication, leading him to years ago in Iran. He recently began his journey back in time.