My Enemy’s Enemy and the Case for Rhetoric

Abstract

This Book Review examines Race, Nation, and Refuge: The Rhetoric of Race in Asian American Citizenship Cases by Doug Coulson where he analyzes race eligibility cases to underscore the value of rhetoric in judicial advocacy. Focusing specifically on Asian Americans, Coulson’s thesis is to showcase the rhetorical dance that balances the United States’ perceived threats to national security with the nation’s subjective definition of whiteness and freedom. The Review highlights Coulson’s belief that where immigrants utilized a rhetorical strategy that politically aligned their interest with the United States’ national security, the advocate was successful in becoming free white persons for purpose of naturalization. The Review also questions whether this rhetorical strategy could provide a template for any marginalized group that seeks inclusion or status equality within a dominant societal structure to survive. That is, could marginalized and privileged groups find a common enemy that would unite them in the twenty-first century?

Keywords: rhetoric, race, nation, refuge, doug coulson, race eligibility cases, asian american