| The Prettier Doll: Rhetoric, Discourse, and Ordinary Democracy Contributor(s): Tracy, Karen (Editor), Taylor, Mark a. (Contribution by), Hariman, Robert (Contribution by) |
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ISBN: 0817354395 ISBN-13: 9780817354398 Publisher: University Alabama Press OUR PRICE: $33.20 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2007 Annotation: 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." Contributors: Mark A. Aakkhus Bruce E. Gronbeck Robert Hariman Kathleen Haspel Alexa Hepburn Darrin Hicks James P. McDaniel Jonathan Potter Herbert W. Simons Karen Tracy |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Process - General - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Democracy |
| Dewey: 320.973 |
| LCCN: 2007004146 |
| Series: Rhetoric, Culture, and Social Critique |
| Physical Information: 0.84" H x 7.19" W x 8.93" (1.22 lbs) 304 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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." |