What do you think?
Rate this book
The Words of César Chávez
César Chávez's relentless campaign for social justice for farm workers and laborers in the United States marked a milestone in U.S. history. Through his powerful rhetoric and impassioned calls to action, Chávez transformed as well as persuaded and inspired his audiences.
In this first published anthology, Richard J. Jensen and John C. Hammerback present Chávez in his own terms. Through this collection and through his own words and analysis of his major speeches and writings, Jensen and Hammerback reveal the rhetorical qualities and underlying rhetorical dynamics of a master communicator and also offer a rich source of the history of the farm workers' movement Chávez led from the early 1960s to his death in 1993.
Each chapter features a clear introductory section that helps the reader focus on the highlights that won Chávez a reputation as an effective communicator. The editors explain the sources of Chávez's motivation to campaign for farm workers, his selection of characteristic and signature rhetorical elements, and the success of specific campaigns and his overall career.
The Words of César Chávez offers an important new resource for scholars of public discourse, Chicano studies, and César Chávez himself. It complements the editors' earlier study, The Rhetorical Career of César Chávez , by providing the primary materials for that rhetorical profile of Chávez. Through his own words, Jensen and Hammerback present Chávez doing what he did teaching and influencing audiences who would enact his agenda to create a new and better world.
In this first published anthology, Richard J. Jensen and John C. Hammerback present Chávez in his own terms. Through this collection and through his own words and analysis of his major speeches and writings, Jensen and Hammerback reveal the rhetorical qualities and underlying rhetorical dynamics of a master communicator and also offer a rich source of the history of the farm workers' movement Chávez led from the early 1960s to his death in 1993.
Each chapter features a clear introductory section that helps the reader focus on the highlights that won Chávez a reputation as an effective communicator. The editors explain the sources of Chávez's motivation to campaign for farm workers, his selection of characteristic and signature rhetorical elements, and the success of specific campaigns and his overall career.
The Words of César Chávez offers an important new resource for scholars of public discourse, Chicano studies, and César Chávez himself. It complements the editors' earlier study, The Rhetorical Career of César Chávez , by providing the primary materials for that rhetorical profile of Chávez. Through his own words, Jensen and Hammerback present Chávez doing what he did teaching and influencing audiences who would enact his agenda to create a new and better world.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
317 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 6, 2023
I enjoyed how this book was structured because on one end, the analysis was helpful in knowing the context of the speeches, but it also let the speeches "speak" for themselves.
As a side note: I have no idea how the translation worked or the original state of the speeches, but there appears to be a inconsistency in the Chavez at Austin, Texas, February 6, 1971 speech. Half the speech is in Spanish and the other is in English. The Spanish half was talking about Hispanics putting their parents in nursing homes, and how shameful it is for *a person* who can't take in their mother because they need to work, want a color TV, a car, and the "vote"...but the English equivalent feels the need to change it to *a woman* who can't take in her mother? It seems weird that Spanish, a gendered language, specified *a person*, yet the English half turned around and said *woman.*
It's a small thing, but it still made me side eye if there were creative liberties taken with the translation. Like what was the reason? Unless that's exactly what Chavez said, but there's not a way for a reader to know unless they look outside the book.
As a side note: I have no idea how the translation worked or the original state of the speeches, but there appears to be a inconsistency in the Chavez at Austin, Texas, February 6, 1971 speech. Half the speech is in Spanish and the other is in English. The Spanish half was talking about Hispanics putting their parents in nursing homes, and how shameful it is for *a person* who can't take in their mother because they need to work, want a color TV, a car, and the "vote"...but the English equivalent feels the need to change it to *a woman* who can't take in her mother? It seems weird that Spanish, a gendered language, specified *a person*, yet the English half turned around and said *woman.*
It's a small thing, but it still made me side eye if there were creative liberties taken with the translation. Like what was the reason? Unless that's exactly what Chavez said, but there's not a way for a reader to know unless they look outside the book.
April 23, 2022
Great speeches. The book dragged at times because of the sections analyzing the rhetoric, which is probably great if that is your area of interest. I didn't know that "rhetor" was a word.
Regardless, not only is it easy to tell that these are good and effective speeches, it also brings some of the history alive via clear communication.
Regardless, not only is it easy to tell that these are good and effective speeches, it also brings some of the history alive via clear communication.
September 26, 2023
Great facts and speeches about him, just didn’t care for the way it was structured. It doesn’t take away from the facts by any means.
September 1, 2015
I finally finished this book last year and he did a lot for Hispanics and he heavily slept on. I respect him a lot and I always found him quite interesting. he was not like other Hispanics at all. everyone should give it a chance and read it. the more you read the more you know
August 26, 2016
Learned quite a bit, but might have enjoyed a straight biography more.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews