A new educational Web site Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project (VOD) has been launched, co-sponsored by the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland and the Center for Democratic Deliberation at the Pennsylvania State University. The site also hosts an online refereed journal, Voices of Democracy.

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), VOD is a "full-service" educational Web site focusing on great speeches and debates in American history.  With a multimedia archive of authenticated speeches, along with critical essays providing historical context, interpretations of the speeches, and reflections on their legacies, the project is designed to showcase the actual words of those who have charted the nation's course in domestic and foreign affairs, debated the great social and political controversies of U.S. history, and shaped the nation's values and cultural identity. Designed by an interdisciplinary group of scholars, VOD also includes teaching and learning materials and other resources that make it possible for teachers to build lessons around famous and not-so-famous speeches on war and peace, civil rights, social and economic justice, religion and public morality, and other “deliberative topics.”  The site is designed as a pedagogical tool for promoting historical and civic literacy, teaching rhetorical principles and ethics, and inspiring students to “speak out” themselves.              

The new on-line journal, Voices of Democracy, is a peer-reviewed journal featuring historical and critical scholarship on U.S. public address. The journal is now accepting submissions.  Requirements and guidelines may be found on the VOD Web site.  In addition to support from the NEH, the VOD project has been made possible by an NCA Initiative Funds Program grant, and by generous support from the University of Maryland and the Pennsylvania State University.

For more information, visit the VOD site: www.voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu.  Questions or inquiries may be sent to the co-directors, Shawn J. Parry-Giles (University of Maryland) at spg@umd.edu or J. Michael Hogan (Penn State University) at jmh32@psu.edu.