Barbara Jordan's symbolic use of language in the keynote address to the national women's conference

Abstract

Barbara Jordan's keynote address to the National Women's Conference provides a focus for this analysis of her symbolic use of language. Numerous qualities contribute to Jordan's effectiveness as a rhetor, however, four dimensions of effective political language, drawn primarily from the works of Murray Edelman, serve as interdependent considerations for this analysis. The four dimensions are: (1) How Jordan creates unifying images in her discourse; (2) How Jordan reasons with her audience; (3) How Jordan's discourse reinforces symbolic images for her audience; (4) How Jordan creates participatory roles for her listeners.