Based on the Rhetorical Political Analysis, this thesis examines rhetoric used by Dutch political party leaders on their attitude towards refugees during the ‘migration crisis’ and after this...Show moreBased on the Rhetorical Political Analysis, this thesis examines rhetoric used by Dutch political party leaders on their attitude towards refugees during the ‘migration crisis’ and after this crisis. This thesis will be adding to the literature on the increase of anti-immigration attitudes and the Dutch immigration discourse. However, the thesis will focus on what is missing in this literature and that is how political party discourse and speeches by Dutch party leaders promote the acceptance or refusal of refugees. The data were collected through the rhetoric of Dutch political party leaders Geert Wilders and Jesse Klaver. Results suggest that despite the similarities in rhetorical arguments, the ideologies of the party leaders are distinct both before and after the ‘migration crisis’.Show less
A textual analysis of three case studies taken from twenty-first century rock and metal music in order to analyse the use of rhetorical appeals in lyrics and video. The analysis is aimed at...Show moreA textual analysis of three case studies taken from twenty-first century rock and metal music in order to analyse the use of rhetorical appeals in lyrics and video. The analysis is aimed at exploring the combined use of different rhetorical appeals in the two media forms, in order to investigate the hybrid appeals that results from this combined rhetorical effort.Show less
This thesis researched the extent to which Bush and Obama used different conceptual metaphorical frames in their rhetoric concerning the Iraq War, and to what extent these frames helped them create...Show moreThis thesis researched the extent to which Bush and Obama used different conceptual metaphorical frames in their rhetoric concerning the Iraq War, and to what extent these frames helped them create a worldview that justified or opposed the Iraq War. The thesis argued that Bush and Obama both use the same metaphorical model, in which they create a hero, villain, and a victim, to justify or oppose the Iraq War. Whereas the existing literature mainly focused on the use of metaphorical framing in a political context, this thesis looks at the political context concerning war. The thesis specifically contributes to the existing literature on metaphorical framing in a war context, and the "Fairytale of a Just War theory" by George Lakoff, because it shows that telling a story in which there is a hero, villain, and a victim can be used to tell a different story than the story in which war is justifiedShow less
This thesis analyzes how Vladimir Putin uses ethos and pathos to justify his foreign policy in Syria, Donbas and Crimea. To answer this question, 27 of his original Russian speeches on these topics...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how Vladimir Putin uses ethos and pathos to justify his foreign policy in Syria, Donbas and Crimea. To answer this question, 27 of his original Russian speeches on these topics have been subjected to a Critical Discourse Analysis, engaging with the insights of ancient and contemporary rhetoric scholars. The results show that Putin consistently weaves three narratives that run like a thread through his speeches. First, Putin presents himself as a kind, intelligent, and respectful leader who has an adequate amount of experience and supports the people. Second, Putin persistently shows that Russia only has good intentions for the world. Last, Russia finally stands up for its interests after years of suppression and humiliation by the hypocrite West. These results not just illustrate the rhetorical techniques that underlay Putin’s account of Russia’s foreign policy. They also provide an insight into the worldview of the vast majority of Russians because of a media monopoly of the Kremlin. As such, this thesis contributes to a growing corpus of research that emphasizes how Putin’s words are of importance.Show less
Right-wing populism is becoming increasingly popular in Western Europe, this is also evident when looking at the Netherlands. Geert Wilders, party leader of the Partij Voor de Vrijheid (PVV), has...Show moreRight-wing populism is becoming increasingly popular in Western Europe, this is also evident when looking at the Netherlands. Geert Wilders, party leader of the Partij Voor de Vrijheid (PVV), has been the face of right-wing populism in the Netherlands for a long time, however, it seems that he has now been replaced by Thierry Baudet. Baudet is the party leader of the Forum voor Democratie (FvD), the two-year-old party has managed to win the provincial elections back in March of this year. With the rise of right-wing populist rhetoric, also the exclusion of people has become prominent. This thesis aims to research and analyse how the rhetoric of contemporary right-wing parties contributes to discrimination and xenophobia in the Netherlands.Show less
This thesis aims to shed a new light on Torrentius’s Still Life with Roemer, Sheet Music, Flagon, Jug, Pipes, and Bridle (1614) and Watercolour with Star, Sky, Water, and Geometrical Figures (1615)...Show moreThis thesis aims to shed a new light on Torrentius’s Still Life with Roemer, Sheet Music, Flagon, Jug, Pipes, and Bridle (1614) and Watercolour with Star, Sky, Water, and Geometrical Figures (1615) via an integral and multidisciplinary approach. By incorporating elements from music, rhetoric, poetry, and Antiquity, as well as by incorporating all details from these two works, new views have been put forward concerning their interpretation.Show less
This thesis examines and compares the ways in which Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden made use of the rhetoric of American exceptionalism in their public speeches and statements between...Show moreThis thesis examines and compares the ways in which Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden made use of the rhetoric of American exceptionalism in their public speeches and statements between 2007 and 2017. It argues that although all three politicians were members of the Democratic Party and were part of the same administration, there are significant differences in the way they used and related to the concept of American exceptionalism.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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This thesis analyzes the rhetoric of the Van Gogh Museum and exposes its communicative strategies holistically. An extensive and multi-faceted analysis on the persuasive character of the Rietveld...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the rhetoric of the Van Gogh Museum and exposes its communicative strategies holistically. An extensive and multi-faceted analysis on the persuasive character of the Rietveld building, the Kurokawa wing, and modern media shows that the communicative strength of the Van Gogh Museum is situated in its awareness of different audiences, their varying needs, and plural museum experiences. In a museum landscape where collection-oriented purposes are increasingly shared with public-oriented functions, the only way through which the museum is able to exert and preserve its expertise is by catering to its audiences. Revealing the rhetorical strategies behind the VGM’s communication results in an awareness that the postmodern museum is capable of transforming its commercial activities into valuable dialogues, in which the visitor is treated as an equal, active, and indispensable participant. Commercial museological practices do not threaten the educative value of the museum but carry the potential to actively encourage inclusivity and accessibility. The VGM emits this message in all of its inherently communicative elements.Show less
The traditional hierarchy within the study of rhetoric changed with the introduction of the digital age. The Internet, and social media services such as Twitter in particular, have become so deeply...Show moreThe traditional hierarchy within the study of rhetoric changed with the introduction of the digital age. The Internet, and social media services such as Twitter in particular, have become so deeply integrated with our daily lives that we unconsciously have started to adapt to the very principle that characterizes the digital world: less is more. This paper investigates the theory that emotions now outweigh the importance of facts, and uses the recent victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 US Presidential Elections to illustrate this. It analyses 52 of Trump’s tweets, collected from both his campaign period and the first year of his presidency to support the claim that pathos has become the leading force in today’s rhetoric. Simultaneously, this paper suggests that that the reason why 140-character messages were able to dethrone years’ worth of studies is embedded in the concept of post-truth, and comments on the extent to which the Internet and social media are already capable of both influencing and giving shape to our thoughts.Show less
This thesis uses the Just World Hypothesis and theories of charismatic leadership in order to explore the similarities and differences in the electoral campaigns of Richard Nixon in 1968 and Donald...Show moreThis thesis uses the Just World Hypothesis and theories of charismatic leadership in order to explore the similarities and differences in the electoral campaigns of Richard Nixon in 1968 and Donald Trump in 2016, focusing especially on the self-made man narrative, the use of media and the use of scapegoats.Show less
Rhetorically, President Johnson presented his Vietnam intervention as part of an international war on poverty. ‘The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to dwarf even...Show moreRhetorically, President Johnson presented his Vietnam intervention as part of an international war on poverty. ‘The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to dwarf even our own TVA,’ LBJ held during his televised speech at Johns Hopkins University of April 1965, informing the audience of the United States’ benevolent ambition in Vietnam. But the desired effect of LBJ's rhetoric was not solely limited to sanctifying foreign affairs: rather, Johnson’s remarks underlined the universalism embedded in Great Society reform, and extrapolated the Democratic platform into a global context - justifying the president's agenda in both the foreign and domestic contexts. Thus, this thesis argues that LBJ’s early Vietnam rhetoric was intimately linked with his public defense of Great Society reforms, and challenge the conceptual dichotomy between domestic and foreign affairs by closely scrutinizing several key speeches of the Johnson presidency.Show less
This thesis argues that the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko have so far justified their territorial claims to Crimea in strikingly similar ways. Through a...Show moreThis thesis argues that the Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko have so far justified their territorial claims to Crimea in strikingly similar ways. Through a qualitative and quantitative content analysis of each president's key speeches, this study finds that both presidents emphasise national-historical arguments when addressing a domestic audience and normative arguments when addressing an international audience, but that both presidents weave the two types of arguments together to create an overall narrative. When compared against each other, this study also finds that Putin uses the most national-historical arguments while Poroshenko uses the most normative arguments. Several conclusions are drawn from these findings, including that the plethora of possible legitimation strategies make positions in a conflict relatively easy to justify, that the Crimea conflict is likely to be intractable, and that more research should be conducted on legitimation strategies in territorial disputes.Show less
This thesis aims to prove that Winston Churchill used his own five principles for good oratory from his 1897 essay “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric” in four speeches given in 1940. The Literature...Show moreThis thesis aims to prove that Winston Churchill used his own five principles for good oratory from his 1897 essay “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric” in four speeches given in 1940. The Literature Review section will define rhetoric, persuasion, style and stylistics. It will review Churchill’s style according to scholars, and will analyse and define the five principles of “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric” (Correctness of Diction, Rhythm, Accumulation of Argument, Analogy and Wild Extravagance) and review how Churchill employed these principles according to scholars. The Methodology section will explain the reason for the selection of four speeches (“Blood, Toils, Tears and Sweat”, “Fight on the Beaches”, “Finest Hour”, and “The Few”) for analysis, and the approach on how these five principles are analysed in this paper. The Results Chapter will show all the results from the different analyses from the individual speeches. The most important results is the increase in mono-, and disyllabic words, the increase in sentence length, and the increase in use and complexity of both imagery and analogy in the climax and closing paragraphs. The Discussion Chapter will discuss the results, show the limitations of the paper, and will conclude that the results from the analyses show that Churchill used his principles from “The Scaffolding of Rhetoric” in the selected speeches.Show less
This thesis discusses the different rhetorical tools used by Gandhi and Hitler in their speeches; thereby revealing that despite their opposing images they were quite identical in terms of their...Show moreThis thesis discusses the different rhetorical tools used by Gandhi and Hitler in their speeches; thereby revealing that despite their opposing images they were quite identical in terms of their use of rhetoric.Show less
Humanitarian ideals are increasingly driving the rhetoric of intervention in the post-Cold War period. Is this indicative of conscientious international environment, or are more cynical...Show moreHumanitarian ideals are increasingly driving the rhetoric of intervention in the post-Cold War period. Is this indicative of conscientious international environment, or are more cynical machinations responsible? Through the analysis of the political rhetoric of prominent case studies, this paper seeks to determine the nature of humanitarian intervention in relation to contemporary understandings of international politics.Show less