Governing With Words

Rather than considering political discussions and rhetoric as symbolic, inconsequential forms of politics, Governing with Words conceptualizes them as forms of government action that can shape institutions and societal norms. Daniel Q. Gillion refers to this theory as 'discursive governance'. Federal politicians' statements about racial and ethnic minority concerns aid the passage of minority public policies and improve individual lifestyle behaviors. Unfortunately, most of the American public continues to disapprove of politicians' rhetoric that highlights race. The book argues that addressing racial and ethnic inequality continues to be a tug-of-war between avoiding the backlash of the majority in this nation while advocating for minority interests. Even though this paradox looms over politicians' discussions of race, race-conscious political speech, viewed in its entirety, is the mechanism by which marginalized groups find a place in the democratic process. Such race-conscious discussions, the book argues, have ramifications both within and outside of government.

This book demonstrates that politicians' discussions of race increase policy success and public awareness, improving racial inequality.

From the opening decades of the republic when political parties sponsored newspapers to current governmental practices that actively subsidize the collection and dissemination of the news, the press and the government have been far from independent. Unlike those earlier days, however, the news is no longer produced by a diverse range of individual outlets but is instead the result of a collective institution that exercises collective power. In explaining how the news media of today operate as an intermediary political institution, akin to the party system and interest group system, Cook demonstrates how the differing media strategies used by governmental agencies and branches respond to the constitutional and structural weaknesses inherent in a separation-of-powers system. Cook examines the news media's capacity to perform the political tasks that they have inherited and points the way to a debate on policy solutions in order to hold the news media accountable without treading upon the freedom of the press.

This book provides clear strategies and processes for boards faced with the challenge to make their governing model, either Coherent GovernanceÒ or Policy GovernanceÒ, work in real life. The Art of Governing Coherently is a practical guide loaded with down-to-earth solutions, all based on processes successfully in use today by boards across the United States and internationally. While many of the examples offered here come from the world of public school boards and non-profit boards, the implementation processes are equally applicable to boards of all types. The challenge of governing and leading a complex organization is difficult enough without struggling to develop and use clear, logical and accountable processes. The Art of Governing Coherently does exactly what the title promises. The authors draw from their combined 70-plus years of experience in working with public and non-profit boards, including work with hundreds of boards using both Coherent GovernanceÒ and Policy GovernanceÒ, as they present their insight about how to use the models effectively. Their common-sense implementation strategies for helping real boards deal with real issues, and doing it through faithful utilization of their new governing tools, makes this a continuing reference source for boards as they translate theory into practice.

Governing the Tongue explains why the spoken word assumed such importance in the culture of early New England. In a work that is at once historical, socio-cultural, and linguistic, Jane Kamensky explores the little-known words of unsung individuals, and reconsiders such famous Puritan events as the banishment of Anne Hutchinson and the Salem witch trials, to expose the ever-present fear of what the Puritans called "sins of the tongue." But even while dangerous or deviant speech was restricted, as Kamensky illustrates here, godly speech was continuously praised and promoted. Congregations were told that one should lift one's voice "like a trumpet" to God and "cry out and cease not." By placing speech at the heart of New England's early history, Kamensky develops new ideas about the complex relationship between speech and power in both Puritan New England and, by extension, our world today.