What Does the American Presidency Mean?
Book • 2025
Richard Holtzman's book advocates for interpretivist methods in presidency studies, suggesting that analyzing presidential words, symbols, and performances reveals dimensions overlooked by causal-inferential research.
He uses Jeffrey Tulis’s The Rhetorical Presidency as a bridge to connect mainstream presidency scholarship with interpretive political science.
The book surveys how presidents make meaning through rhetoric, spectacle, visual staging, and cultural representations, and traces interpretive strands in the field.
Holtzman emphasizes pluralism in methods and the value of normative and contextual inquiry to enrich understanding of executive power.
Aimed at scholars and curious readers, it proposes broadening the questions asked about the presidency beyond causal effects.
He uses Jeffrey Tulis’s The Rhetorical Presidency as a bridge to connect mainstream presidency scholarship with interpretive political science.
The book surveys how presidents make meaning through rhetoric, spectacle, visual staging, and cultural representations, and traces interpretive strands in the field.
Holtzman emphasizes pluralism in methods and the value of normative and contextual inquiry to enrich understanding of executive power.
Aimed at scholars and curious readers, it proposes broadening the questions asked about the presidency beyond causal effects.
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What Does the American Presidency Mean? A Conversation with Richard Holtzman
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Richard Holtzman
What Does the American Presidency Mean?
