The American Speech Tradition
- One-day seminar with Professor Michael Leff
The purpose of the seminar is to introduce the American speech tradition – the practice of American orators and the theories of American rhetorical scholars – to a Danish audience of students, academics, politicians and professionals. The seminar poses the question of what we can learn from the American tradition and provides an opportunity for discussion of this important issue.
The seminar is divided into two halves: a morning session consisting of public lectures, open to all interested parties, and an afternoon workshop, for which registration will be required. This dual structure facilitates an introduction of the issue with a broad appeal as well as in-depth discussions among those with a particular interest in the matter.
Provisional Program
Morning program: public lectures
09.00-09.45: The American speech tradition – historical overview of rhetorical theory and practice in the US (public lecture by Professor Leff)
09.45-10.15: Break
10.15-11.00: The American speech tradition - continued
11.00-11.30: Discussion: what can we learn from American rhetorical theory and practice?
11.30-13.00: Lunch
Afternoon program: workshop
13.00-14.00: Group work – rhetorical criticism of selected speeches by key political actors concerning the foreign policy of the US
(one per group; number of groups dependent on number of participants)
14.00-14.30: Break
14.30-15.30: Presentations and discussions of the groups’ findings
15.30-16.00: General discussion and concluding remarks
Participation is free; registration for the workshop required.
Register here:
The organisers wish to thank The American Embassy for their economical support.