Song of the Scapegoat: How Silence Augments Kenneth Burke's Notion of the Scapegoat in Political Rhetoric
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Mary Elizabeth Smith
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Brock, Kevin
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of South Carolina
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2017
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
48
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
Committee members: Rule, Hannah
NOTES PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Text of Note
Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-0-355-34455-4
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
M.A.
Discipline of degree
English
Body granting the degree
University of South Carolina
Text preceding or following the note
2017
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
President Donald Trump ascended to the US's highest hall of power through rhetoric that scapegoated marginalized groups, such as Muslims, Hispanics, immigrants, foreigners, and others. This work considers the executive order President Donald Trump released January 27, 2017, and its revision released March 06, 2017, for how it exemplifies Kenneth Burke's notion of the scapegoat, specifically as outlined in A Grammar of Motives and A Rhetoric of Motives. These executive orders have come to be known as the "Muslim Ban" due to the way they implicate Muslims in charges of terrorism, harm, and danger and affect the lives and movement of innocent people and groups. Since the rhetorical work of these EOs occurs in a veiled, concealed, or silent way, the argument is supplemented by Cheryl Glenn's "rhetoric of silence" as outlined in Unspoken: A Rhetoric of Silence. Framing the EOs in context of Trump's candidacy and first 100 days in office exemplifies how silence augments rhetoric that evokes the scapegoat to shape America's political and social destiny and reveals the machinations of power behind the use and imposition of the scapegoat on others.