Public speaking as cultural ideal: Internationalizing the public speaking curriculum

ABSTRACT

Institutes of higher education around the world respond to the challenge of globalization by internationalizing their curricula. We argue that adding an element of cultural reflection to curriculum design is an important step toward internationalization. We use ethnographic analysis to highlight the cultural gap between Anglo-American and non-Anglo interpretations of public speaking. We begin by reconstructing the Anglo cultural ideal of public speaking from a historical overview of the evolution of the public speaking textbook (Sproule, J.M. [2012]. Inventing public speaking: Rhetoric and the speech book, 1730–1930. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 15, 563–608.). Then, we review alternative cultural models of public speaking. Finally, we identify directions for future research and curriculum design.

KEYWORDS:

• Public speaking
• globalization
• culture
• ethnography
• pedagogy

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jerry Hauser, for his comments on an earlier draft of this article, and John Jackson, Jamie Skerski, Leah Sprain, Karen Tracy, and Cindy White, for their comments on the research project.

ORCID

David Boromisza-Habashi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3235-5813