Of Television and Social Capital

Abstract

This essay wonders anew about the issues discussed in Seducing America: How Television Charms the Modern Voter and asks if those concerns are still relevant today. The author concludes that they are. The language of political cynicism, it is argued, has become the indigenous language of television and it depletes the supply of social capital in the United States. The essay explains why this is true and what happens as a result.

Keywords:

• Television
• Political Cynicism
• Social Capital
• Phenomenology
• Rhetorical Content

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roderick P. Hart

Roderick P. Hart (Ph.D. The Pennsylvania State University) is Dean of the College of Communication, Shivers Chair in Communication, Professor of Government, and the Director of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation at the University of Texas at Austin