Project #2: Rhetoric and Demagoguery

Project #2: Rhetoric and Demagoguery

Overview
Your work in this unit will build on the critical analytical work you did for your first project and extend it by asking you to locate, evaluate, and synthesize material from several sources. You will do this by applying the concepts laid out in one text (our “lens” text by Patricia Roberts-Miller) to analyze and evaluate the rhetorical strategies and persuasiveness of another text (that of a public figure who utilizes demagogic characteristics in their discourse). As Roberts-Miller argues, “Demagoguery is a serious problem, as it undermines the ability of a community to come to reasonable policy decisions and tends to promote and justify violence… Demagoguery isn’t about what politicians do; it’s about how we, as citizens, argue, reason, and vote.” Importantly, demagogic rhetoric can be deployed rhetors from any part of the political spectrum.

In her book,Demagoguery and Democracy, Roberts-Miller examines the elements and persuasive strategies used within the rhetoric of demagogues. She suggests the following definition:

Demagoguery is discourse that promises stability, certainty, and escape from the responsibilities of rhetoric by framing public policy in terms of the degree to which and the means by which (not whether) the out-group should be scapegoated for the current problems of the in-group. Public disagreement largely concerns three stases:

Group identity- who is in the in-group, what signifies out-group membership, and how loyal rhetors are to the in-group
Need- the terrible things the out-group is doing to the in-group and/or their very presence
What level of punishment to enact against the out-group- ranging from the restriction of the out-group’s rights to extermination of the out-group

Directions

In this 5-7 pagepaper, you will begin by offering an overview Roberts-Miller’s argument and will then use her ideas and the rhetorical strategies she identifies as a lens to look at one speech bya person of your choosing who you believe may engage in demagogue rhetoric. (I will suggest possibilities in class, but please clear your text selection with me to make sure it will work for this assignment).

Following your introduction and the context you provide, the bulk of your paper will investigate how specific characteristics of demagoguery (i.e. polarization, demonization, motivism, scapegoating, etc.) work in the sample text you choose. You must provide examples of these elements from the rhetor’s speech, analyzing how they work, why they may have been used in the context, and what effect they may have on the intended and secondary audiences. You will also need to analyze the ways in which the author seems to be responding to/playing on values, assumptions, and concerns his or her intended audience is likely to hold. Keep in mind that this will require you to fully introduce your chosen speaker/demagogue, rhetorical situation, and speech before beginning your analysis.

Finally, you will need to conclude your essay with a brief review of what your paper covered and some reflection on the implications or significance (the “so what?”) of what you’ve discovered through this analysis. Help your readers understand why it is important to pay attention to the rhetoric of demagogues generally and to the strategies employed by your chosen speaker more specifically.

A Sample Essay Structure in More Detail (This is ONE way to do this paper that may help you organize your ideas and analysis)

In this paper, you will:

Introduce the topic and Roberts Miller’s work on demagoguery, establishing your lens. Briefly introduce your target speaker/text, and describe what your paper will do. (Don’t be afraid to use metadiscourse or “I” as you construct your opening.)
Set the scene. Identify what the speaker is responding to and who his/her audience is. (This may be in a secondary introduction paragraph.)
Identify the speaker’s central claims and the reasons or evidence he/she uses to support them.
Identify, analyze, and evaluate3-4significant elements of your speaker’s text and discuss the extent to which they conform to Roberts-Miller’s definition of demagogic discourse. Be sure to:
Use examples (to help support your claims)
Include attention to both strengths (strategies that seem reasonable or perusuasive) and weaknesses (strategies that contain rhetorical fallacies)
Discuss howyour examples work (or don’t) and explain your justifications
Explain why they may have been used in this context
Evaluate the effectiveness/persuasiveness of the strategies you’ve identified
Explore possible effects on the audience. Try to find one element that comes closest to Roberts Miller’s definition of demagogic discourse, and one that comes closest to her “standards for good public discourse” (i.e. is effective, reasonable and ethical).
Present a conclusion (Answer the “So what, who cares?” question. What is significant about the work you did/things you learned in the course of writing this.) You may also wish to discuss what you have learned about criteria for evaluating argument and/or encouraging democratic debate.
Your 5-7 page essay should use MLA format, including page numbers and a works cited page.

Keep in mind that your focus here is onanalyzing howyour chosen speaker/author makes their argument and explaining what demagogic rhetorical strategies and choices make their approach persuasive or not for their audiences and contexts. That is, where possible you should concentrate on how the speaker constructs their argument and why their evidence and strategies are convincing (or not) for their target audiences rather than on your response to those arguments.

As a reminder, this project supports the following student learning outcomes for RWS 200:

Analyze a variety of print and digital texts to articulate relationships between an argument’s elements and the contexts within which the argument was created.
Evaluate both print and digital arguments through a process of critical inquiry, examining the arguments in their original contexts
Locate, evaluate, and synthesize material from sources related to a public discussion in order to generate and support arguments.
Contribute an informed argument to an ongoing public discussion by identifying and assessing the rhetorical context for an issue.
Compose a variety of texts through a multi-stage recursive process.
Employ conventions of academic writing in rhetorically purposeful ways.

Due Dates:

3/XX- Outline and rough first paragraph/thesis
3/XX- Individual Conferences
3/XX- Rough draft
3/XX- Final draft

Grading Rubric for Project #2: Rhetoric and Demagoguery

Project is Worth up to 20 Points

Criteria / Excelling / Competent / Emerging / Absent
Introduction- description/overview of your project’s purpose; identification and brief discussion of the key texts/authors you'll work with; metadiscourse on paper's structure/roadmap
/ 3 / 2 / 1 / 0
Identification- through your close reading of Patricia Roberts-Miller’s (PRM) article and the text of your chosen speaker, identify and brieflythe significant rhetorical strategies you will analyze. Keep in mind that your readers are relatively unfamiliar with subject and elements of demagogic rhetoric, so provide enough introduction to help them understand.
/ 3 / 2 / 1 / 0
Analysis- using the strategies outlined by PRM and the examples you identified, analyze the rhetorical situation, strategies, appeals, evidence, strengths, and weakness of the demagogic moves made by your speaker. Discuss howthe examples work (or don’t) and why they may have been used for this audience/setting,
/ 6 / 4 / 2-3 / 1-2
Evaluate- following analysis of your chosen examples, evaluate the effectiveness/persuasiveness of your speaker’s demagogic rhetorical choices. What was he/she trying to achieve with this speech and was this accomplished?
/ 6 / 4 / 2-3 / 1-2
Structure, Proofreading, and Works Cited- use a clear and effective structure to guide readers through your paper, utilize good topic and transitional sentences, do a final edit to catch typos, spelling errors, and mechanical problems, and be sure to include a properly formatted works cited page and page numbers. / 2 / 1 / 1 / 0