In the short text “Characteristics of Demagoguery” and longer article “Democracy, Demagoguery, and Critical Rhetoric,” Patricia Roberts-Miller argues that demagogic discourse contains some central rhetorical characteristics that disrupt typical civic discourse.
For this paper, you will use Roberts-Miller’s texts as a lens through which you will examine the rhetoric of a prominent leader. Some speeches and analytical articles will be posted on Canvas, but feel free to find your own sources as well. You are welcome to choose an option outside of those listed below, but please discuss this with Prof. Cissel before diving in.
The central question your essay should answer is “To what extent does your person’s rhetoric qualify as demagoguery?” Your thesis should answer that question, and the body paragraphs of your paper should defend that answer. The overall project here is to apply Roberts-Miller’s explanation of demagoguery to a specific example.
Your paper should focus on how specific demagogic concepts (polarization, oversimplification, demonization, et cetera) operate in the text(s) you’ve chosen. You should discuss examples of these concepts, how they work, and their intended effects on the rhetor’s audience. You should also discuss whether these elements are fallacious rhetorically and, if so, to what extent the fallacies reveal a potential weakness in the rhetoric. For this discussion, focus on Roberts-Miller’s section (starting on page 466 of the longer article) that describes the norms of debate and reasoning that certain fallacies undermine. You can add more depth to your paper by discussing the historical circumstances that make your subject’s rhetoric appealing to the masses.
(Choose one option below and write about it)
Contemporary Options/ Historical Options
Donald Trump
Bernie Sanders
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (American politician)
Elizabeth Warren (American politician)
The Parkland, Fla., gun-control activists
Louis Farrakhan (leader of the Nation of Islam)
Richard Spencer (American white nationalist)
Nigel Farage (British politician, “Brexit” leader)
Marine Le Pen (French politician)
Rodrigo Duterte (Filipino President)
Jair Bolsonaro (Brazilian President)
Alexander Lukashenko (Belarusian President)
Silvio Berlusconi (former Italian Prime Minister)
Vladimir Putin (Russian President)
Hugo Chavez (late Venezuelan President)
Robert Mugabe (late Zimbabwean President)
Jacob Zuma (former South African President)
Boris Johnson (British Prime Minister)
Huey P. Long (“Every Man a King,” 1934)
Joseph McCarthy (Prosecution of Edward R. Murrow on the CBS show See It Now, 1954)
George Wallace (1963 Inaugural Address)
Malcolm X (“The Ballot or the Bullet,” 1964)
Ronald Reagan (The “Evil Empire” speech, 1983)
Adolf Hitler
Osama bin Laden
Ho-Chi Minh
