Overview

This book offers a timely examination of communication and contemporary political culture in the United States and the specific forces, factors, and dynamics that have contributed to increasing democratic dysfunction and violence. Informed by their novel theoretical bridging to analyze four key vectors in the interplay of complex social systems – (1) post-truth; (2) polarization; (3) [social media] platform; and (4) populism – Joshua J. Frye and Steven R. Goldzwig examine the cultural norms, traditions, and trajectories of public communication and citizen practices to interrogate both how we got to this point and how we can fix it. Exploring salient and increasingly important issues affecting the public life and culture of American democracy and democratic movements worldwide, this work expands public understanding of the current political landscape, of what effective democratic citizenship requires, and of communication practices that can be used to better engage with these contemporary challenges. Scholars of communication, rhetoric, and political science will find this book of particular interest.

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9781666902808

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Reviews

"A trenchant, impassioned, and deeply unsettling examination of what ails American democracy. Impeccably researched, Frye and Goldzwig offer the most comprehensive account of the matrix of vicious communication loops that both enable and constitute Trumpism and the virtuous loops that must be its antidote. How do democracies die? How do functioning civil societies slide toward populist demagoguery, perhaps even rotting into authoritarian quagmires of ill-will and spectacular ignorance? In Rhetoric and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era, Joshua J. Frye and Steven R. Goldzwig answer these questions by focusing on post-truth communication, the production of polarization, the abuse of social media platforms, and the rise of rightwing populism. By tracking what they call ""the almost invisible lines connecting reason, speech, and action to truth, trust, and virtue,"" and by diagnosing how Trump-era charlatans have shredded that delicate fabric, Frye and Goldzwig offer readers a roadmap for reclaiming democracy."

A trenchant, impassioned, and deeply unsettling examination of what ails American democracy. Impeccably researched, Frye and Goldzwig offer the most comprehensive account of the matrix of vicious communication loops that both enable and constitute Trumpism and the virtuous loops that must be its antidote. How do democracies die? How do functioning civil societies slide toward populist demagoguery, perhaps even rotting into authoritarian quagmires of ill-will and spectacular ignorance? In Rhetoric and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era, Joshua J. Frye and Steven R. Goldzwig answer these questions by focusing on post-truth communication, the production of polarization, the abuse of social media platforms, and the rise of rightwing populism. By tracking what they call ""the almost invisible lines connecting reason, speech, and action to truth, trust, and virtue,"" and by diagnosing how Trump-era charlatans have shredded that delicate fabric, Frye and Goldzwig offer readers a roadmap for reclaiming democracy.

"A trenchant, impassioned, and deeply unsettling examination of what ails American democracy. Impeccably researched, Frye and Goldzwig offer the most comprehensive account of the matrix of vicious communication loops that both enable and constitute Trumpism and the virtuous loops that must be its antidote. --Randall A. Lake, University of Southern California How do democracies die? How do functioning civil societies slide toward populist demagoguery, perhaps even rotting into authoritarian quagmires of ill-will and spectacular ignorance? In Rhetoric and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era, Joshua J. Frye and Steven R. Goldzwig answer these questions by focusing on post-truth communication, the production of polarization, the abuse of social media platforms, and the rise of rightwing populism. By tracking what they call ""the almost invisible lines connecting reason, speech, and action to truth, trust, and virtue,"" and by diagnosing how Trump-era charlatans have shredded that delicate fabric, Frye and Goldzwig offer readers a roadmap for reclaiming democracy. --Stephen J. Hartnett, University of Colorado Denver"

Author Information

Joshua J. Frye is professor of communication at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. Steven R. Goldzwig is professor emeritus, Department of Communication Studies at Marquette University.

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