A Case for Dissident Judgment: Jesse Jackson and the Language Game of Presidential Politics

• In Event: Rhetorics of Social Change

Abstract

“Dissident judgment” cultivates the boundaries of multiple language games in order to expand existing games, reshape rules of play, and develop alternative ones. First, I examine the central components of authority, obligation, and deliberation, which are sought after and avoided during judgment. Next, I use Beiner and Lyotard to clarify dissident judgment as a human faculty that participates in multiple language games. Finally, I explore dissident judgment by examining Jesse Jackson’s Democratic National Convention speeches.

Author

• Jennifer Heusel, Indiana University