Precarious Positions: Toward a Theory and Analysis of Rhetorical Vulnerability

In this project, I develop a framework for treating rhetoric as a system for managing vulnerabilities to and through discourse. I contend that, through rhetoric, we are all put into a fundamentally precarious position, an unavoidable state of exposure to material, social, institutional, and rhetorical forces that work to condition us as both agents and audiences. Rhetoric is not simply something we use; it is also something that we respond to, something to which we are continuously exposed, whether we like it or not. There is, in other words, a necessary concern for vulnerability at the heart of rhetorical theory and praxis, which makes it possible to analyze rhetorical genres and situations in terms of how vulnerabilities are managed by rhetors, audiences, and others. In my first chapter, I examine current scholarship on vulnerability within and beyond rhetorical studies, ultimately arguing that vulnerability is both a universal condition and a unique position. I then apply this framework in my next chapter to the rhetoric of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), which I describe as “trolling rhetoric” designed to provoke responses rather than persuade audiences. In my third chapter, I examine how opponents of the WBC attempt to manage their rhetorical vulnerability through legal appeals to decorum. Finally, in my fourth chapter, I examine the citational composing methods of the God Loves Poetry movement, an online initiative that manages rhetorical vulnerability by redacting the WBC’s documents into poems.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English Language and Literature

Grantor

English

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Riche, David

• hate speech
• rhetoric
• composition
• trolling
• decorum

Statement dc:rights

• withheld
• Secure the entire work for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year. Student has submitted appropriate documentation which states: During this period the copyright owner also agrees not to exercise her/his ownership rights, including public use in works, without prior authorization from LSU. At the end of the one year period, either we or LSU may request an automatic extension for one additional year. At the end of the one year secure period (or its extension, if such is requested), the work will be released for access worldwide.

Identifier

etd-06062014-132202
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1315

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.lsu.edu:gradschool_dissertations-2314