Communicating Terror

Joseph S. Tuman (J.D., University of California, Berkeley; B.A., political science, University of California, Berkeley) is Professor of Political and Legal Communications at San Francisco State University, where he regularly teaches upper-division courses in rhetoric and terrorism, political and legal communication, argumentation & advocacy, and technology and human communication. A past recipient of the Jacobus tenBroek Society Award for Teaching Excellence, Professor Tuman has also taught at the University of California, St. Mary’s College, the New School for Social esearch, and Paris II, the top law school in France. He is the author of Political Communication in American Campaigns(SAGE, ©2008) and the co-author of numerous books, including Freedom of Speech in the Marketplace of Ideas and of The Bedford/St. Martin′s Guide to Public Speaking; he has also been the journal editor of Contemporary Argumentation & Debate: The Journal of the Cross Examination Debate Association. His work has been featured in news publications such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, and he has served as a network analyst for news programs on ABC, NBC, CNN and CNN International, FOX and the BBC. He currently appears as a regular political commentator for CBS in the western United States.

It delivered what it advertised, but overall it was far less comprehensive than what I wanted for my course.

• Introduction1. The Struggle to Define TerrorismDefining TerrorismAttempts to Synthesize a Consensus DefinitionSummaryNotes2. Terrorism as a Communication Process With Rhetorical DimensionsTerrorism as a Communication ProcessTerrorism and RhetoricSummaryNotes3. Labeling and Defining Terrorism as RhetoricDefinitions and LabelsReconsidering the Definition of TerrorismSummaryNotes4. Symbols, Symbolism, and Terrorism: Means and ImplementsSymbols, Symbolism, and Violence/DestructionSymbolism in the Implements and Tools of TerrorismSummaryNotes5. Symbolism in the Targets of TerrorismTemporal Targets for TerrorismSymbolism in the Chechen Terrorist Attack on a Moscow TheaterSymbolism, the World Trade Center, and the PentagonSummaryNotes6. Methods for Studying Public Oratory About TerrorismA Method of Rhetoric for Public OratorySummaryNotes7. Case Studies for Public Oratory About TerrorismPresident Bush’s Speech to the Nation Immediately After the Attacks of 9/11President Bush’s Speech to the Congress, the Nation, and the World on September 20, 2001Speech by Osama bin Laden, Dated 11/1/2004: Just Before the 2004 General Election in the United StatesSummaryNotes8. Theories of Mass Media for TerrorismUnderstanding Mass MediaMedia-Centered CriticismSummaryNotes9. Mass-Mediated Images and Construction of TerrorismTerrorism From Above and Mass MediaTerrorism From Below and Mass MediaAgenda Setting and the Framing of Terrorism in News MediaTerrorism and New MediaTerrorism and Paid MediaSummaryNotesIndexAbout the Author