Abstract
Haapala introduces a rhetorical approach to studying parliamentary debate. Focusing on the debating practices of the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, the chapter suggests that an extraordinary relationship was formed between debate and parliamentary procedure in the Unions and the mid nineteenth-century House of Commons. As well as drawing attention to the relevance of procedure and rules of debate in the history of the British Parliament, Haapala discusses approaches previously used to make sense of parliamentary discourse and debate. The chapter also illustrates the adoption of parliamentary procedure in the Unions and highlights them as an important historical source for understanding political activity in British parliamentary culture.
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Haapala, T. (2016). Introduction: The Rhetoric of Parliamentary Debate. In: Political Rhetoric in the Oxford and Cambridge Unions, 1830–1870. Studies in Modern History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-35128-5_1
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