What is the impact of Douglass’s physical presence and his style of delivery in the effectiveness of his speeches
POSITION PAPER ON A CRITICAL EDITION OF THE ORATORY OFFREDERICK DOUGLASS
Students will write a brief paper evaluating the usefulness of public oratory in historical research, focusing on A Critical Edition of the Oratory of Frederick Douglass. The text of the Douglass Papers’ new book includes five brief scholarly essays or book excerpts to assist students to address this issue. Students should use those essays, and additional readings they seek out, to prepare a short (c. 4 page) paper, stating their assessment of how historians should treat sources such as Douglass’s oratory as a research tool. The paper should be submitted electronically by 11:59PM on November 19th at 5PM. (Value: 100 points per review.)Assessing the Accuracy of the Historical Moment Examine the “source notes” for a sampling of Douglass’s speeches (manuscript notes or texts; newspaper reports; Published texts, etc. and consider the qualities of each type of source that best capture Douglass’s actual words and oratorical presence. Does the historians’ possession of an orator’s notes or pre-written speech guarantee the accuracy of what was said? Do published newspaper reports accurately capture the event? In what ways could they be flawed reports? What factors would account for serious discrepancies in multiple newspaper reports of the same speech? Sometimes an orator or later “editors” publish texts of speeches months or years after their delivery. How can a modern reader gauge whether these are to be trusted as accurate accounts of the speech? What factors could explain inaccuracies in such texts? Assessing the Orator’s Performance Style Historians frequently focus on the text of the words of a speech while scholars in the field of “Communications” also study the “performance.” Sample Douglass’s speeches and offer opinions on the following issues: What is the impact of Douglass’s physical presence and his style of delivery in the effectiveness of his speeches? In what ways did Douglass take his audience and the occasion into account when delivering a speech? How is it helpful to have a speech text that also reports the “audience response”? Assessing the Orator’s Effectiveness Many qualities of an effective speech parallel those of an effective essay or editorial but other are unique to the speech form. Sample Douglass’s speeches and offer opinions on the following issues: How logical were Douglass arguments and were they presented in an order that guided his audience to agree with him? How well did Douglass establish a shared sense of identity or purpose with his audiences that assisted him in winning their support? Assess the impact of Douglass’s growing fame and “celebrity” on his ability to win over audiences? Finally conclude how well having access to a lengthy record of Douglass’s orations aid modern readers in understanding his impact on the nineteenth century? What additional features in such a collection would make the more valuable to modern readers in assessing Douglass as an historical figure?Suggested Readings: Part V of the forthcoming Critical Edition of the Oratory of Fredrick Douglass located in the Files folder of the Canvas site.
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