Dr. Allison M. Prasch is Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. An expert in U.S. presidential rhetoric, political communication, and the history of rhetoric, her research and teaching seeks to understand how U.S. political leaders use words and actions to create and sustain a particular vision of the United States to national and global audiences.
Her first book, The World is Our Stage: The Global Rhetorical Presidency and the Cold War (University of Chicago Press, 2023), examines how U.S. presidents used their rhetoric abroad as a persuasive strategy during the Cold War. Drawing on archival research from five presidential libraries, the Department of State, and the United States Information Agency, the book shows how Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan used their international tours — and the widespread media coverage of these tours — to extend the United States’ global influence, expand the reach of presidential power in foreign affairs, and bolster their own image at home and abroad.
Professor Prasch is also the co-editor (with Sara L. McKinnon) of Reassessing Foreign Policy Rhetorics in a Global Era: Concepts and Case Studies (Michigan State University Press, 2024), and her award-winning academic scholarship has appeared in venues such as Presidential Studies Quarterly, the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric & Public Affairs, the Southern Communication Journal, Women’s Studies in Communication, and several edited volumes.
As an internationally recognized expert in U.S. presidential rhetoric and political communication, Dr. Prasch’s commentary has been featured in outlets including the Associated Press, Washington Post, Newsweek, The Hill, Boston Globe, Politico, C-SPAN, the BBC, and Wisconsin Public Radio. She is a frequent contributor to The Conversation, and has also appeared on news programs in Australia, Canada, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
Current and Future Projects
- Researching & teaching course on the rhetoric of the U.S. presidential election (Fall 2024)
- Researching & writing a rhetorical history of the U.S. Capitol City (1789 – 1815), with specific emphasis on the relationship between race, place, and national identity
- Ongoing study of U.S. presidential foreign policy rhetoric, with a particular focus on representations of space/place
Education
- Ph.D. Communication Studies (Rhetoric), University of Minnesota, 2016
- M.A. Communication Studies (Rhetoric), University of Minnesota, 2011
Honors/Awards
- Resident Faculty Fellowship, Institute for Research in the Humanities, 2024-25
- Excellence in Teaching Award, Phi Beta Kappa Alpha Chapter of Wisconsin, 2024
- Vilas Associates Award, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023-24
- Summer Humanities Research Fellowship, Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2023
- Michael Pfau Outstanding Article Award, Political Communication Division, National Communication Association, 2022
- First Book Program Award, Center for the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2019
- Golden Anniversary Monograph Award, National Communication Association, 2017
- Outstanding Dissertation Award, American Society for the History of Rhetoric, 2016
Books
- The World Is Our Stage: The Global Rhetorical Presidency and the Cold War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023.
- Foreign Policy Rhetorics in a Global Era: Concepts and Case Studies. Co-editor with Sara L. McKinnon. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2024.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- 2022. “‘An Empire for Liberty’: Reassessing US Presidential Foreign Policy Rhetoric.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 108.4: 357-381. [First author with Mary E. Stuckey].
- 2021. “A Tale of Two Presidencies: Trump and Biden on the National Mall.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 107.4: 472-479.
- 2021. “The Rise of the Global Rhetorical Presidency.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 50.2: 327-356.
- 2019. “Obama in Selma: Deixis, Rhetorical Vision, and the ‘True Meaning of America.’” Quarterly Journal of Speech 105.1: 42-67.
- 2017. “Saluting the ‘Skutnik’: Special Guests, the First Lady’s Box, and the Generic Evolution of the State of the Union Address.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 20.4: 571-604. [First author with Julia Scatliff O’Grady]
- 2017. “‘A Journey for Peace’: Spatial Metaphors in Nixon’s 1972 ‘Opening to China.’” Presidential Studies Quarterly 47.4: 646-664. [Co-author with Zoë Hess Carney]
- 2016. “Toward a Rhetorical Theory of Deixis.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 102.2: 166-193.
- 2015. “Retelling Watergate: Apologia, Political Eulogy, and Richard Nixon’s ‘Final Campaign.’” Southern Communication Journal 80.4: 271-292.
- 2015. “Maternal Bodies in Militant Protest: Leymah Gbowee and the Rhetorical Agency of African Motherhood.” Women’s Studies in Communication 38.2: 187-205.
- 2015. “Reagan at Pointe du Hoc: Deictic Epideictic and the Persuasive Power of ‘Bringing Before the Eyes.’” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 18.2: 247-276.
Book Chapters
- 2019. “Reading the Presidency In Situ: Obama in Cuba and the Significance of Place in U.S. Presidential Public Address.” Reading the Presidency: Advances in Presidential Rhetoric, Stephen J. Heidt and Mary E. Stuckey, eds. New York: Peter Lang, 44-64.
- 2018. “The Two Madam Secretaries: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Elizabeth McCord, and Mimetic Representations of 21st Century Feminism.” Women, Feminism, and Pop Politics:From “Bitch” to “Badass” and Beyond, Karrin Vasby Anderson, ed. New York: Peter Lang, 223-244.
Selected Lectures, Media Appearances, & Public Scholarship
- “I Study Presidential Rhetoric. Here’s What Biden Should Say Tonight.” The Hill, July 24, 2024.
- “Odds are that Gambling on the Biden/Trump Competition Will Further Reduce the Presidential Campaign to a Horse Race.” The Conversation, July 12, 2024.
- “The Art and Science of Presidential Rhetoric.” University of the Air, Wisconsin Public Radio, June 2, 2024.
- “How Questions About Age Affect the Race for President in 2024.” Central Time, Wisconsin Public Radio News Interview. February 21, 2024.
- “Speaking to the People: A Century of Broadcast Presidential Speeches.” Panel discussion with Cody Kennan, Sara Peri, and Cara Finnegan. Archive on 4, British Broadcasting Network (BBC), November 25, 2023.
- “Allison M. Prasch, The World Is Our Stage: The Global Rhetorical Presidency and the Cold War.” New Books in Political Science Podcast, New Books Network, October 19, 2023.
- “US President Joe Biden’s Trip to Israel.” Shaye Ganam Show, Global News Calgary 630 CHED / 770 CHQR. October 19, 2023.
- “Biden’s Middle East Trip Has Messages for Both Domestic and Global Audiences.” The Conversation, October 18, 2023.
- “For a President, Half of Life is Just Showing Up.” Newsweek, June 26, 2023.
- “What Biden Can Learn from Another Elderly Statesman, Ronald Reagan.” Newsweek, April 25, 2023.
- “How a Presidency Reflects Our National Identity.” 8 O’Clock Buzz News Radio Interview, WORT 89.9, Madison, Wisconsin. March 3, 2023.
- “Analyzing the Political Rhetoric from Biden’s Second State of the Union Address.” Central Time, Wisconsin Public Radio News Interview. February 8, 2023.
- “Madison-area Leaders Await President Biden’s Visit to the Badger State.” NBC15 WMTV News Interview. February 7, 2023.
- “‘Freedom Will Triumph Over Tyranny’: Biden’s First State of the Union Echoes Themes from the Cold War.” The Conversation, March 2, 2022.
- “State of the Union Preview.” C-SPAN Interview, March 1, 2022.
- “Two Presidencies, Two Weeks, One Place: Trump and Biden on the National Mall.” Center for the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison, March 19, 2021.
- “Inaugural Addresses.” Communication Matters Podcast, National Communication Association, January 28, 2021.
- “Visions and Views of America, as Told by Pres. Biden and 22-year-old poet.” NBC15 WMTV News Interview. January 21, 2021.
- “President-elect Joe Biden Plans to Start Term with ‘America United’ Theme.” NBC15 WMTV News Interview. January 21, 2021.
- “Staying with Unity Theme Essential for Biden.” Public News Network Radio Interview. January 19, 2021.
- “Rhetorical Reflections on the 2020 Presidential Election.” Roundtable Discussion, Rhetoric Society of America, November 6, 2020.
- “(Un)Norming the Presidency: Republicans, Democrats & the Paradox of Donald Trump.” Politics After Dark Lecture Series, Southern Methodist University School for the Arts, Dallas, TX. October 19, 2020.
- “When a President Gets Sick.” A Public Affair Radio Interview, WORT 89.9, Madison, Wisconsin. October 13, 2020.
- “Recapping the Vice Presidential Debate.” 6 O’Clock News Radio Interview, WORT 89.9, Madison, Wisconsin. October 8, 2019.
- “Gearing Up for the 2020 Presidential Election.” Crossroads of Ideas Lecture Series, University of Wisconsin-Madison. September 24, 2020.
Courses Taught
- CA 360 – Introduction to Rhetoric in Politics and Culture
- CA 369 – Rhetoric of the US Presidential Election
- CA 610 – Theoretical Advances in US Presidential Discourse
- CA 610 – U.S. Presidential Rhetoric & Foreign Policy
- CA 610 – Rhetoric of the Cold War
- CA 610 – Foreign Policy Rhetorics in a Global Era
- CA 969 – Rhetorics of Race, Place, and National Identity
- CA 969 – Rhetorical Historiography