Michelle Obama: First Lady, American Rhetor is an edited anthology that explores the persona and speech-making of the country's first African American first lady. The result of these thought-provoking essays is an interdisciplinary text that explores the First Lady from a rhetorical and cultural point of view. Authors analyze her Democratic National Convention speeches, her brand as First Lady, her communication from her latest trip to Africa, her agenda rhetoric in Let's Move! and Reach Higher, and her coming out as a Black feminist intellectual when she spoke at Maya Angelou's memorial service. Readers will recognize Michelle Obama as a rhetor of our times-a woman who influences America at the intersections of gender, race, and class and who is representative of what women are today.

Connecting with Constituents explores speeches delivered at national nominating conventions from historic, strategic, and analytic perspectives. Focusing on the strategies speakers use to appeal to particular facets of the American audience, this book illustrates the importance of nominating conventions as part of an ongoing national conversation about the political character of the country and its people. The individual chapters focus on different types of convention orations, including keynote speeches, acceptance addresses by presidential and vice presidential nominees, orations by the candidates' wives, and addresses by other surrogate speakers. Each chapter provides a brief history of a particular type of oration, an explication of speakers, speeches, and contexts from the RNC and DNC between 1980 and 2008, and an in-depth comparative analysis of 2012 Republican and Democratic speeches. The book demonstrates how candidates and those speaking on their behalf employ strategies (such as telling personal stories, using jokes, offering intraparty appeals, acclaiming accomplishments, and framing the opponent in particular ways) to alter how citizens build, or fail to build, personal connections with the speakers, the parties, and their nominees. These analyses reveal more than simply how speakers and speechwriters persuade audience members; they show how would-be leaders view their potential constituents. They also highlight key social, historical, and political changes in the nation. Connecting with Constituents blends historic anecdotes, excerpts from numerous speeches, and insights from political communication studies in a manner that engages the interests of anyone seeking to understand the relationship between political candidates, their speeches, and the people they wish to lead.

Michelle Obama: First Lady, American Rhetor is an edited anthology that explores the persona and speech-making of the country's first African American first lady. The result of these thought-provoking essays is an interdisciplinary text that explores the First Lady from a rhetorical and cultural point of view. Authors analyze her Democratic National Convention speeches, her brand as First Lady, her communication from her latest trip to Africa, her agenda rhetoric in Let's Move! and Reach Higher, and her coming out as a Black feminist intellectual when she spoke at Maya Angelou's memorial service. Readers will recognize Michelle Obama as a rhetor of our times-a woman who influences America at the intersections of gender, race, and class and who is representative of what women are today.

"Introduction to the World of Communication" gives students a strong introductory foundation in communication skills. Many texts in the field focus on either fundamentals of communication or mass communication. This anthology addresses both and provides useful information about careers in the field.
The book begins with an overview of the fundamentals of communication, moves into the history and development of communication media, and concludes with a survey of dominant communications professions.
Topics include:
- Language
- Nonverbal Communication
- Law and Ethics
- Mass Communication
- Emerging Technology
- Interpersonal Communication
Each chapter has tear-out reading questions that aid in evaluating progress with and completion of the readings as well as in preparing for exams. The discussion questions encourage dynamic classroom interaction.
"Introduction to the World of Communication" can be used in Introduction to Human Communication courses, as well as Introduction to Mass Communication, and Introduction to Communication Studies.
Dr. Tammy R. Vigil is currently the Associate Dean of the College of Communication at Boston University. She earned her doctorate from the University of Kansas in 2000. Dr. Vigil has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in Communication Theory, Research Methods, Contemporary Mass Communication, Argumentation and Oral Presentation. She currently teaches the large introductory class for the College of Communication. Her research interests include political communication, media effects, rhetoric, and popular culture. Dr. Vigil is a co-author of the book "The Third Agenda in U.S. Presidential Debates."