The Analysis of Senator Barack Obama’s Speech on Race by Kenneth Burke’s Idea of Dramatism

By Liu Xiaoyan and Nancy L. Street.

Published by The International Journal of the Humanities

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Article: Print	$US10.00
Article: Electronic	$US5.00

The analysis is focused on scene-act ratio and agent-purpose ratio in an attempt to identify and interpret Obama’s motives in giving the race speech. The analysis of scene-act ratio spotlights the political motive of the speech. Obama wanted to limit the damage inflicted on his campaign by his pastor Jeremiah Wright’s sermons. The analysis of agent-purpose ratio reveals the emotional motive of the speech. Obama felt a compelling need to redeem himself due to the increasing public attack on him. At the end of paper, the author points out that pentad, subject to people’s varying interpretations, tends to lose its objective hold in its practical guidance.

Keywords:	Dramatism, Pentad, Purgative-Redemptive Drama, Motive

International Journal of the Humanities, Volume 7, Issue 1, pp.83-92. Article: Print (Spiral Bound). Article: Electronic (PDF File; 1.193MB).

Liu Xiaoyan

lecturer, Communication Department, School of Humanities and Social Sciences., Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China

Liu Xiaoyan,from School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Jiaotong Univesity, China. I come from Beijing and teach in the Beijing Jiaotong University. I’m now a visiting scholar in Bridgewater State College, M.A. I’m interested in the communication theories, especially how the theory can be applied to daily practice.

Dr. Nancy L. Street

Professor, Communication Studies Department, Bridgewater State College, South Easton, MA, USA

Dr. Street is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder (MA, Ph.D in Communication Studies). She has taught for more than thirty years, several years in Chinese universities. She is the recipient of two Fulbright Study grants. Street was Chairperson of her department for four years and Coordinator of the Center for Academic Research and Teaching for four years. In 2003, Dr. Street was selected for the Class of 1950 Distinguished Faculty Research Award. In 2004, she was chosen for the BSC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to numerous research awards, Street has either authored or co-authored seven books, with a focus on intercultural communication and social change. She has lived, taught and researched in China since 1986 and has worked with many Chinese graduate students over time. Her teaching interests include: globalization, persuasion and communication theory. She has travelled extensively to countries such as Cuba, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Norway and Western Europe.

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