Linguistic and Rhetorical Perspectives on Congressional Hearings

Congressional hearings are often the most requested government documents in US libraries. However, among the genres that have been traditionally of interest to political discourse analysts – e.g. political speeches, political interviews, policy documents – hearings have not been of much scrutiny on the part of discourse scholars, an attitude somehow contrasting with the lay public’s interest. Cinzia Giglioni takes the opportunity to gain a unique view into the actors, the interested parties, the issues, from a linguistic and rhetorical perspective. Her intent is to provide an in-depth analysis of witnesses’ opening statements, which are probably the most salient parts in a congres­sional hearing. The investigation begins with, but is not constricted by, theoretical aspects, which are integrated with empirical observations and suggestions for critical reading.