Idaho State University Professor publishes book on Hamilton: An American Musical

In the summer of 2020, America was embroiled in controversy and public protests over mask mandates and the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody. In the midst of these events, Disney+ decided to stream Hamilton: An American Musical. In the first ten days of streaming, it received 2.7 million views, exceeding the number who saw the show on Broadway or on any stage across the globe. Given the social and political landscape, the show became the focal point for more debate and protest. Within a few days of airing, the hashtag #CancelHamilton was trending on Twitter. Some of the controversies were about the show’s cast, its portrayal of slavery, the Founding Fathers, the role of women, and historical discrepancies about some of the lead characters.

It is within this newly controversial backdrop that the book The Revolutionary Rhetoric of Hamilton was written. The book, edited by Luke Winslow, Nancy J. Legge, and Jacob Justice, explores the play within this new, more challenging framework. Nancy J. Legge, professor of rhetoric at Idaho State University co-edited the book and contributed two chapters. She explains that far from being trivial, popular culture is instrumental in shaping our understanding of history and current events. She notes that just as “Americans winning the Revolutionary War ‘turned the world upside down,’ so, too has Hamilton: An American Musical challenged a lot of our traditional ways of thinking.” Each chapter explains how Hamilton has influenced the ways we understand history, politics, and social issues, including racial and gender equity, immigration, and even how we understand theatre. According to Barry Brummett from the University of Texas-Austin, the book explains the way issues that  “engross our country are being handled rhetorically” in Hamilton: An American Musical.