Radicals, Rhetoric, and the War / Palgrave Studies in Oral History (PDF)

Brad Lucas is Assistant Professor of English, Texas Christian University.

"The turbulent 70s are now the stuff of history, and mythology. In this book, Brad Lucas shows how history can become myth, and myth history. Examining an almost unknown incident, Lucas uses both oral histories given at the time of the incident and present day interviews with the participants and observers. The result is a clear and even handed presentation of what happened over 35 years ago. That, however, is just the beginning. Lucas goes on to examine the role of rhetoric in shaping not just the course of events as they occurred but in shaping our memory of those events. The result is a fascinating and significant historical study that reveals and examines how we rhetorically construct our lives as they unfold, and how we construct our memories many years later. In the end, Lucas helps us to understand the complex and important role of rhetoric in shaping and remembering events." - William Lutz, Professor of English, Rutgers University

'Today's college students are often puzzled about the causes, goals, and motives of the 'student movement' and numerous protests, some of which turned violent, on college campuses during the 1960s and 1970s. Radicals, Rhetoric, and the War chronicles, explains, and analyzes the complex development and evolution of protest on American campuses, the interplay of causes (equal rights for African American students, student rights, the war in Vietnam, and the counter-culture movement), and the struggle for control of public universities by governors, state legislatures, boards of regents, college presidents, faculty, and students. Untapped oral history tapes at the University of Nevada provide unique insights into a near-violent protest on the Reno campus that mirrored protests throughout the country. Students and others who read this volume will come away with a deeper understanding of the forces that clashed on college campuses and the roles rhetoric played in efforts to gain recognition for causes and to stifle protest and