After Empire: Myth, Rhetoric, and Democratic Revival: 51 (Frontiers in Political Communication)

The book locates myth at the base of U.S. war culture, examines its potential reconfiguration into a culture of peace, and considers rhetoric’s capacity to renew democracy by dissent. Guided by the archetype of coyote and a vision of better angels, it reflects on Barack Obama’s rhetorical juggling and the prophetic voice of veterans opposed to war.

Robert L. Ivie is Professor Emeritus in English (Rhetoric) and American Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. His writing on political rhetoric, war culture, and democratic discourse includes Hunt the Devil: A Demonology of US War Culture (2015) with Oscar Giner, Dissent from War (2007), and Democracy and America’s War on Terror (2005).

Oscar Giner, Professor of Theatre at Arizona State University, focusing on myth and ritual in the Spanish religious stage and Native American performances, has contributed to Rhetoric, Materiality and Politics (2009) and Sourcebook for Political Communication Research (2011) and coauthored Hunt the Devil: A Demonology of US War Culture (2015).