007 // What is demagoguery, and what role does it play in a democracy?

Politicians who gain power by exploiting ignorance and prejudice and appealing to the lowest common denominator have a history dating back to ancient Greece. Why are they successful, what is our responsibility for bringing them into being, and how can they be countered? Is the current global backlash against experience and “elites” just a phase, or does it represent a longer-term shift in how democracies view their leaders?


Ryan is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric & Composition in the Department of English at San José State University. His research focuses on histories of rhetoric and composition, particularly in American higher education, and public discourse in contemporary politics. He has written, edited, or co-edited five books, including Conceding Composition: A Crooked History of Composition’s Institutional Fortunes (2016) and Faking the News: What Rhetoric Can Teach Us About Donald J. Trump (2018).


What Qualifies as Demagoguery?
<p align=“left”>Surprisingly few attempts have been made at defining the term “demagoguery” with much precision, despite its frequent use as a negative epithet by politicians, their critics, historians, political sociologists and the like. Those attempts that do exist in the literature suffer from e…
The rhetorical brilliance of Trump the demagogue
An expert on American political rhetoric breaks down Donald Trump’s rhetorical prowess, pointing to the various techniques the candidate has mastered.
Donald Trump and ‘Demagogue’: The History of a Loaded Word
It’s much more than an insult: It’s a loaded word with a lot to say about the uneasy compromise of the American experiment.
Faking the News
What Rhetoric Can Teach Us About Donald J. Trump
Conceding Composition: A Crooked History of Composition’s Institutional Fortunes on JSTOR
First-year composition became the most common course in American higher education not because it could “fix” underprepared student writers, but becaus...
Demagoguery and Democracy
What is demagoguery? Some demagogues are easy to spot: They rise to power through pandering, charisma, and prejudice. But, as professor Patricia Roberts-Miller explains, a demagogue is anyone who r…
Classical uses of the term demagogue/ry - Patricia Roberts-Miller
[I cut this from the book about demagoguery, but other academics might find it interesting.] 1. Classical uses of the term demagogue The term “demagogue” is originally Greek, and it’s conventional to rely on Greek sources in order to ground a definition, often with the assertion that there is a bina…

This salon took place August 24, 2018.