This episode of NICD Chat is a lecture by Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Associate Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University. She spoke at the third biannual NICD Research Convening that took place September 26-28, 2019 in Tucson, Arizona. Dr. Mercieca's talk, entitled "Is Our Public Sphere Under Attack?," explored weaponized rhetoric and its impact on American political discourse. 

Dr. Mercieca writes about American political discourse, especially as it relates to citizenship, democracy, and the presidency. She has published two books about political rhetoric: Founding Fictions (University of Alabama Press, 2010) and The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency (Texas A&M University Press, 2014). Her third book about Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and demagoguery is forthcoming and is expected to be published in 2020. For more on her scholarship, visit https://www.jennifermercieca.com.