Research

For much of American history, Supreme Court nominations attracted little public attention. The rancorous public hearings that characterize contemporary confirmation struggles were unheard of prior to the twentieth century. Today, except for presidential campaigns, no single constitutional event produces more controversy and interest than the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice. The intense scrutiny of this process is not surprising, as the Court addresses profound issues of civil rights and liberties, constitutional law, and economics policy, and the power of one vote is considerable. As it has done so many times before, regarding Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court in 2000 inserted itself into a critical and ongoing national debate. Slavery, property rights, abortion, individual privacy, freedom of religion—all of the great issues that have confronted the United States have come before the Supreme Court for resolution. Judicial philosophies, plus ideological formation for American conceptions of law, justice, and democracy are rhetorically important. 

Parry-Giles examines some controversial and ideologically meaningful Supreme Court nominations from 1916 through 1987: Louis D. Brandeis, Charles Evans Hughes, John J. Parker, Thurgood Marshall, Clement F. Haynsworth Jr., G. Harrold Carswell, and Robert Bork. The book also discusses recent confirmations, including Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer. The Character of Justice points to the centrality of this process to and the ideological constitution of the American system of democracy and law.

Contrasting strong women and multiculturalism with portrayals of a heroic white male leading the nation into battle, The Prime-Time Presidency explores the NBC drama The West Wing, paying particular attention to its role in promoting cultural meaning about the presidency and U.S. nationalism. Based in a careful, detailed analysis of the "first term" of The West Wing's President Josiah Bartlet, this criticism highlights the ways the text negotiates powerful tensions and complex ambiguities at the base of U.S. national identity--particularly the role of gender, race, and militarism in the construction of U.S. nationalism. Unlike scattered and disparate collections of essays, Trevor Parry-Giles and Shawn J. Parry-Giles offer a sustained, ideologically driven criticism of The West Wing. The Prime-time Presidency presents a detailed critique of the program rooted in presidential history, an appreciation of television's power as a source of political meaning, and television's contribution to the articulation of U.S. national identity.

Bill Clinton is the embodiment and epitome of American politics in the postmodern, mediated age. Clinton’s able marshaling of images, which allowed him to retain popularity and position when faced with compelling obstacles, marks him as the preeminent figure in a fluid and fluctuating era of image-politics. Constructing Clinton: Hyperreality & Presidential Image-Making in Postmodern Politics pays particular attention to the collection of disparate, sometimes connected, often random images that create a site of political meaning we know as «Bill Clinton, former president of the United States.» Through analyses of unique image texts – including The Man from Hope, The War Room, Primary Colors, MTV’s Biorhythms, and PBS’ The American President – Constructing Clinton focuses on the image of Bill Clinton as it was defined by and trapped in the hyperreality so characteristic of contemporary presidential politics. 

Both Truman and Eisenhower combined bully pulpit activity with presidentially directed messages voiced by surrogates whose words were as orchestrated by the administration as those delivered by the presidents themselves. A Review of the private strategizing sessions concerning propaganda activity and the actual propaganda disseminated by the Truman and Eisenhower administrations reveals how they both militarized propaganda operations, allowing the president of the United States to serve as the commander-in-chief of propaganda activity. As the presidents minimized congressional control over propaganda operations, they institutionalized propaganda as a presidential tool, expanded the means by which they and their successors could perform the rhetorical presidency, and increased presidential power over the country's Cold War message, naturalizing the Cold War ideology that resonates yet today. Of particular interest to scholars and students of political communication, the modern presidency, and Cold War history.

Focusing on mass communication, this work provides a gender perspective that is also informed by the intersections of race, class, and sexual orientation. Its goal is to challenge professionals to think differently about their own communication contributions to society.