Pathos Final Project

    My final project will be a comparative analysis of two pieces of discourse by those involved in the Tea Party movement.  The goal of the project is to shed light on the emotional appeals used by those in the Tea Party.  In this project I will seek to explain 1) how those in the Tea Party . a speech by Christine O’Donnell and a blog post that appeared on the Tea Party Patriots website on October 26, 2010.  To complete this analysis, I will draw from theorists we have discussed in class, particularly Nussbuam and Ahmed.  Nussbaum’s explanation of Aristotle will help me explain how each rhetor seeks to generate certain emotions based on their audience’s values and beliefs.  I will draw from Ahmed to elaborate on how each rhetor constructs in groups that are a source of love and out groups that are a source of fear and hate.  Ahmed’s theory of affective economies will help me explain how the lack of an object of fear and hate in the two discourses creates a distinct boundary between the “haves” and the “have nots.”  The project will take the form of a 5-6 page paper plus a prezi presentation.  The prezi presentation will illustrate how emotion “slides” from object to object within the texts to be analyzed.  In this project I will need to:

1) Write a 5-6 page paper that compares the emotional appeals of a speech given by Christine O’Donnell at the Values Voters Summit in Washington D.C. on September 17 and a blog entry that appeared on the Tea Party Patriots website on October 26, 2010.

2) Effectively draw upon course material and theorists to explain how emotional appeals work in these two discourses.

3) Provide a detailed analysis that clearly illustrates the similarities and differences between the two discourses, answering the questions: What emotions do the rhetors seek to provoke?  What rhetorical techniques do they use in order to provoke these emotions?  What is the interpretation of the emotion that will lead to the desired behavior?

4) Design a prezi presentation that illustrates to the audience, how these rhetors create an economy of fear.  The presentation should focus on how fear and hate are not directed at one agent, but instead, “slide” from object to object.