Distinguished Professor Connects Course Material To Politics

Dr. William Benoit, distinguished professor of communication at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an expert on persuasive attacks in political cartoons, spoke at Pitt-Greensburg via Zoom on Sept. 18 as part of Dr. Anne Czerwinski’s Image Restoration in Media course. 

Dr. Benoit explained that the power of persuasion can be used to either help or harm the audience. 

“Political cartoons are interesting because they rely on common knowledge, meaning readers participate in creating the meaning,” Dr. Benoit said.

Dr. Benoit has been developing his theory of persuasive attack and has published many works on the topic including “Persuasive Attack: Threatening Reputations in Public Discourse,” as well as his image-repair book, “Accounts, Excuses, and Apologies.” 

Dr. Benoit explained that social media has had a major impact on the way that persuasion in politics works. He said that before social media, people got their information from three main networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC), so there was universal common knowledge. 

Today, Dr. Benoit noted, there are many sources of information, so there is not a universal common knowledge, but instead common knowledge within echo chambers on social media platforms.

Junior Timaia Lewis, a communications major, found Dr. Benoit’s talk interesting, particularly as it applied to the current political landscape.

“When he was talking about political cartoons, I thought it was interesting when he mentioned that political cartoons can lead with humor and cause people to let their guard down,” Lewis said. 

Dr. Benoit has published 23 books and hundreds of journal articles and book chapters. He has given talks all around the world and is ranked one of the top published scholars in the communication field.

Dr. Benoit’s speech and the Image Restoration in the Media course help students understand persuasion and how important it is to understand rhetorical tactics while navigating the political world. 

For more information about communication courses offered at Pitt-Greensburg, contact Dr. Czerwinski, associate professor of communication, at czerwin@pitt.edu. While Image Restoration in the Media is offered only in the fall, there are other communication courses taught in the spring that focus on similar topics.