Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Semester of Degree Completion
2003
Thesis Director
Shane Miller
Abstract
Existing research on the rhetorical strategies of politicians has mainly focused on the speeches, appearances, and debates of political figures. Yet the absence of a clear response when expected, or silence, is a significant and frequently utilized rhetorical strategy. More directly, Erickson and Schmidt (1982) posit that, even though it is important to study, the topic of political silence has only received meager attention. Various politicians including President Clinton and California Congressman Gary Condit have both used political silence as responses to situations, and each instance had a different outcome. The focus of this study is on how the strategy of silence fits into the tradition, examples of how contemporary politicians have used strategies of silence, and the development of criteria to evaluate the use of political silence. The major goal of this study is to examine the silence of the politician and use evidence to determine the effectiveness of that silence. Doing so will further enhance our understanding of political rhetorical silence as not just an absence of speech, but a rhetorical tool in its own right.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Timothy J., "The Use of Silence as a Political Rhetorical Strategy" (2003). Masters Theses. 1434.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/1434
