Rhetoric and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era

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.

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.