Running head: RHETORIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 1

Analyzing the Rhetoric Used in Minority Protest

Ariana Rojas

University of Central Florida

RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 2

Believe it or not, rhetoric plays a huge role in how we communicate in our everyday lives

without us realizing. According to Downs, the technical definition of rhetoric is " a set of

principles that explain and predict how people make meaning and interact.” (p.460) Rhetoric is

not only is represented in verbal communication such as conversations but also in nonverbal

communication. Downs explains that “Our Bodies not only generate signals which we and

others interpret, but also contain our embodied sensory apparatus for perceiving both those

signals and all the other signals our physical surroundings generate.” (p.461) In other words,

body language such as crossing your arms or using facial expressions creates meaning which our

body’s senses pick up to allow us to respond correctly. A variety of types of rhetoric can be

found in discourse communities. Swales defines a discourse community as focusing on “text and

languages, the genres and lexis that enable members throughout the world to maintain their

goals, regulate their membership, and communicate efficiently with one another.” (as cited in

Johns, para 4)

When choosing my discourse community, I began to think about aspects of my life that

really mattered to me. I wanted to be sure to be able resonate with my topic so I could offer some

personal insight and to be able to enjoy what I am writing about. When I think of what in my life

I identify with the most, I immediately think if belonging to the Hispanic community. This

realization led me to choose minorities as my discourse community. Throughout my research, I

found that one thing most minorities have in common is that at one point or another their

communities have been involved in a protest. These finding steered me to develop my research

question: How are different types of rhetoric used in minority protest use to create meaning?

Through the idea scavenger hunt, I gathered four sources that will assist me in answering

my research question. Bozkus and Fadnis articles focused on how social media is used in protest
RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 3

to strengthen their cause. They highlighted the importance of hashtag activism and memes.

While these two sources do not directly link the use of social media as a type of rhetoric used in

protest, my goal is to use what I have learned about the types of rhetoric in class and apply them

to explain how each type and how it gave the movement meaning. My third article by Endres

and Senda (2011) highlights the importance of space and place rhetoric in protest. This is a

useful source because it allows me to better understand this type of rhetoric to be able to apply it

to my primary research. Lastly the article by Wrenn (2019), informs about different genres the

used by the Women’s March against Donald Trump’s crude and degrading sexual comments

toward women to convey their message. While the articles do not directly speak of rhetoric,

many forms of rhetoric can be implied such as political, visual, gender, and gestural. Throughout

my research paper I strive to analyze the different types of rhetoric used in protests, and report

how it adds meaning to their message.

For my research paper I have narrowed down my primary research methods to two.

According to Easy Writer, Davis (2019) reports that Multimodal Text Analysis is “the process of

textual analysis that questions how textual, visual, auditory, and other elements operate to deliver

messages and meaning.” Multimodal Text Analysis great fit for my research plan because it

allows me to investigate protest actions on social media to determine the types of rhetoric used as

well as how the rhetoric created meaning. My plan regarding this research method is to study the

types of rhetoric used in post on twitter. I chose Twitter as my social media platform that I will

study because this is the platform in which the political world mostly communicates through. I

will specifically be looking at memes, hashtags, and written post that are posted about protest

movements and how the rhetoric strengthens their message. The next piece of my research will

include a survey. I will create my survey on google forms to be able to send the link through text.
RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 4

This convenient form of surveying allows me to reach larger audience since we do not have to

coincide our schedules to meet. I plan to conduct this 8-10 question survey to about 10-15

people. Thus far I have come up with some base questions that I will attach on the last page of

this proposal. However, through my findings of the types of rhetoric used in protest’s social

media posts I may choose to edit or add to the survey questions. Once I have gathered all the

data necessary through both Multimodal Text Analysis and Survey, I will compare the

information in order to determine which is the most effective form of rhetoric used in protest to

strengthen their message and meaning for the movement.

Timeline

Date Task
Week of 2/17/20 to Meet with Professor Mooney to discuss research plan.
2/21/20
Week of 2/24/20 to Complete analysis of twitter post of protest discussed in the articles
2/28/20 found.
Week of 3/2/20 to Have finalized survey prepared and send out to selected people.
3/28
4/5/20 RESEARCH PAPER DUE
RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 5

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. What is your ethnicity

a. Hispanic/Latino

b. African American

c. Asian

d. White

e. Other

i. If other, please write ethnicity in space.

2. Have you participated in a protest?

a. Yes

b. No

i. If yes, please specify organization below.

3. Check all that apply: During the protest did you do the following:

a. Create a Poster

b. Wear costumes

c. March

d. Protest at a location significant to the movements message

e. Other:

i. Enter other form of protest here if applicable

4. Have you ever used social media as a medium for protesting?

a. Yes

b. No

5. Select all that apply: In regard to Twitter, have you ever shared the following to your feed?

a. Protest Memes

b. Protest/ Movement Hashtags

c. Retweeted tweets for the organization you are protesting for

RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 6

References

Barlas Bozkuş, Ş. (2016). Pop Polyvocality and Internet Memes: As a Reflection of Socio-

Political Discourse of Turkish Youth in Social Media. Uluslararası Hakemli İletişim ve

Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi/International Peer-Reviewed Journal of Communication

and Humanities Research, 10, 540–565. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2018973069&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Davis, Y. (n.d.). Multimodal Text Analysis. In Easy Writer (6th ed., pp. R-11). Bedford/St.

Martin's.

Downs, D., & Wardle, E. (2019). Rhetoric: Making Sense of Human Interaction and Meaning-

Making. Writing About Writing. Boston, MA: Bedford, St. Martins.

Endres, D., & Senda-Cook, S. (2011). Location Matters: The Rhetoric of Place in Protest. The

Quarterly Journal of Speech, 97(3), 257–282.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00335630.2011.585167

Fadnis, D. (2017). Feminist Activists Protest Tax on Sanitary Pads: Attempts to Normalize

Conversations about Menstruation in India Using Hashtag Activism. Feminist Media

Studies, 17(6), 1111–1114. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2017.1380430

Johns, A.M., (1997) Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership,

Conflict, and Diversity. Writing About Writing. Boston, MA: Bedford, St. Martins.
RHETOIC IN MINORITY PROTEST 7

Wrenn, C. (2019). Pussy Grabs Back: Bestialized Sexual Politics and Intersectional Failure in

Protest Posters for the 2017 Women’s March. Feminist Media Studies, 19(6), 803–821.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1465107