The prettier doll : rhetoric, discourse, and ordinary democracy / edited by Karen Tracy, James P. McDaniel, and Bruce E. Gronbeck.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Tracy, Karen.

McDaniel, James P.

Gronbeck, Bruce E.

Series:

Rhetoric, culture, and social critique.

Rhetoric, culture and social critique

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communication in politics--United States.

Communication in politics.

Rhetoric--United States.

Rhetoric.

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (317 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Essays in the The Prettier Doll focus on the same local controversy: in 2001,a third-grade girl in Colorado submitted an experiment to the school science fair. She asked 30 adults and 30 fifth-graders which of two Barbie dolls was prettier. One doll was black, the other white, and each wore a different colored dress. All of the adults picked the Barbie in the purple dress, while nearly all of the fifth graders picked the white Barbie. When the student's experiment was banned an uproar resulted that spread to the national media. School board meetings and other public exchanges highlighted the potent intersection of local and national social concerns: education, censorship, science, racism, and tensions in foundation values such as liberty, democracy, and free speech. For the authors of these essays, the exchanges that arose from "Barbiegate" illustrate vividly the role of rhetoric at the grassroots level, fundamental to civic judgment in a democratic state and at the core of "ordinary democracy."

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS; II. THE BARBIEGATE DISCOURSE; III. AFTER WORDS; Appendix A: Transcripts of BVSD Speeches; Appendix B: Newspaper and School District Documents; Contributors; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8173-8023-X

OCLC:

427566791