The Politics of Style and the Style of Politics

Understanding style as the intersection of communication, culture, commodification, and aesthetics, The Politics of Style and the Style of Politics focuses on the numerous connections between style and politics. In the first section of the book, the contributors reflect on style in the rhetoric of politics. In today's political arena, commentaries on the styles of political candidates seem to outpace serious discussions of policy and credentials: For example, politicians and commentators alike parse Barack Obama's ability to manipulate stylistic dimensions of race, class, and national origin. Elsewhere, many critics debate about whether a ôfeminine styleö can ever carry a national election. The book's second section focuses on style in the politics of culture. These chapters consider politics in the sense of everyday struggles over power, as exemplified in situations such as France's political battles regarding whether Islamic women may wear head coverings. Overall, The Politics of Style and the Style of Politics makes a powerful argument for the strong connection between style and politics in all of its forms. Book jacket.

Barry Brummett is Charles Sapp Centennial Professor in Communication and Department of Communication Studies Chair at the University of Texas at Austin.