Vernacular Voices

Vernacular Voices addresses the role of citizen voices in steering a democracy through an examination of the rhetoric of publics-active segments of society that influence the general climate of public dialogue-and of the associated public spheres and public opinion. Gerard A. Hauser maintains that the interaction between everyday and official discourse discloses how active members of a complex society discover and clarify their shared interests and engage in exchanges that shape their opinions on issues of common interest. Paying close attention to how members of society engage in public dialogue reveals a picture of citizens who are contentious on matters that affect their lives.

This book sets forth a conceptual framework, called publics theory, for understanding how the rhetorical character of formal and informal communication bears on the spheres in which publics form and the quality of the opinions they express. Hauser extends his discussion of these theoretical concerns through four case studies. The first explores the role of cultural memory and narrative in shaping the recent political transformations in Central Europe by contrasting events in Poland and the former Yugoslavia. The other case studies explore attempts to redefine the character of the public sphere by the so-called Meese Commission Report, the Carter administration's technological understanding of public opinion during the Iranian hostage situation of 1979-80, and the dialogue of the American people with Franklin D. Roosevelt on the meaning of America as expressed in letters encouraging him to stand for a third term in office.