Deze scriptie onderzoekt de overeenkomsten en verschillen tussen Fortuyn, Wilders en Baudet. Ze worden vergeleken op het gebied van ideologie, stijl en achterban.
Research master thesis | Literary Studies (research) (MA)
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In popular culture, the European Middle Ages (ca. 500-1500) are commonly portrayed as a culturally homogenous time period in which the supremacy of the white, heterosexual male is taken for granted...Show moreIn popular culture, the European Middle Ages (ca. 500-1500) are commonly portrayed as a culturally homogenous time period in which the supremacy of the white, heterosexual male is taken for granted. This makes the period attractive to the far-right, whose members view the Middle Ages as an alternative to our modern, multicultural times. In the past, Medieval imagery and rhetoric have consequently been appropriated by groups and individuals ranging from the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazis to Anders Breivik, the Charlottesville protesters and Vladimir Putin. In this thesis, Guus van der Peet examines how the appropriation of history has taken place in the Dutch Language Area. He analyses four case studies: 1) an antisemitic sequel to the Middle Dutch classic Vanden Vos Reinarde; 2) the academic publications of Jan de Vries, a national-socialist professor in Leiden; 3) two Youtube videos from the Flemish far-right student association Schild & Vrienden; 4) two speeches by alt-right politician Thierry Baudet. In the end, Van der Peet concludes that there is a significant difference between the Flemish and Dutch appropriation of the past. Whereas the Flemish far-right repeatedly references the Middle Ages, the Dutch far-right deviates from the international tradition by instead appropriating the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.Show less
This research has investigated the classical rhetorical concept of ‘ethos’. While the notion of ethos has been recognised and studied since Classical Antiquity, there has been a lack of...Show moreThis research has investigated the classical rhetorical concept of ‘ethos’. While the notion of ethos has been recognised and studied since Classical Antiquity, there has been a lack of methodological means to identify and evaluate specific ethos-techniques. In addition, various terminologies have been used interchangeably to describe ‘ethos’, which has led to confusion. This study has addressed both issues by investigating classical and modern notions of ethos. Conclusively, this research has broken down the concept of ethos into the term ‘invented ethos’ (also called ‘persona’) and ‘reputation’ (also called ‘situated ethos’). Accordingly, a new method was developed to determine one’s reputation, identify ethos-techniques in one’s speeches, and evaluate one’s overall ethos. As a means to test this new model, a case study was conducted of two Dutch, relatively young politicians – Thierry Baudet and Jesse Klaver – who, as new party leaders, despite their young age and relative lack of experience, won a significant number of seats for their parties, in the Dutch House of Representatives in the 2017 elections. The corpus consisted of four speeches: two speeches of each politician. The analysis suggested that Baudet scores high when it comes to his expertise, but lower on sympathy and reliability. This can be explained by the fact that, contrary to the classical and modern advice, Baudet is not very modest and uses complex language. Klaver on the other hand, scores high on sympathy, low on reliability, and average on expertise. Looking at the total scores, the theorised ethos-advices were mostly reflected in Klavers’ speeches, who also had the highest reputation score. The analysis further showed that the two politicians maintain similar ethos-aims. They are both portraying themselves as the underdogs: outsiders who are part of the public and who are fighting the political elite. Still, certain unexplored ethos-techniques were employed by both politicians. Most prominently, both make significant use of ‘namedropping’, yet with a different result. Baudet’s namedropping of inter alia literary authors and classical music, seems to be aimed at underlining his expertise, which is also stressed by his use of flowery and grandiloquent language. Contrarily, Klaver seems to employ namedropping of famous (Dutch) persons, in order to put more emphasis on his popularity and likeability, which is also supported by his more conversational tone and his casual look. Nevertheless, Baudet’s and Klaver’s growing ethos and overall popularity suggests that lack of experience of expertise is not that important. Future research is recommended to further assess the effects of self-praising, self-mockery, and namedropping, on one’s ethos. KEYWORDS: Ethos, Credibility, Reputation, Rhetoric, PoliticsShow less
