Last month, 98-year old former president Jimmy Carter began the end of his life in hospice care. His condition this week is unknown; his niece is quoted in the news saying, “He’s still got some time in him.” A president with a character like Jimmy Carter’s can reflect, in a snapshot way, who we are as people in America. This week’s Buzz guest Allison Prasch spends her academic career researching and pondering how this adds up to what can be called “national identity.” Prasch joins host Andy Moore to talk about the legacy President Carter will leave behind and what it says about our national identity, then and now.

Allison Prasch is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture in the Communication Arts Department at UW-Madison. Her work focuses on U.S. presidential rhetoric, public address, foreign policy, and rhetorical history, theory, and criticism.

Photo credit: Trikosko via Library of Congress

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