Colin Powell's Speech to the UN: A Discourse Analytic Study of Reconstituted<i>Ethos</i>

Rhetoric Society Quarterly Oct 2012

Colin Powell's Speech to the UN: A Discourse Analytic Study of Reconstituted<i>Ethos</i>

Martha S. Cheng Rollins College

Abstract

Using Colin Powell's 2003 pre-war speech to the UN as a case study, this essay illustrates ways in which discourse analytic methods can serve investigations of constitutive rhetoric. Prior to the speech, Powell's reluctance to go to war and his skepticism of the need for military action in Iraq was well known. His conversion to the administration's position was key to the persuasiveness of the speech. Thus, within the speech he needed to reconstitute his ethos from doubter to advocate. The analysis focuses on how specific linguistic qualities such as modality, positioning, narrative, and evaluation assist Powell in doing so. These discourse analytic tools reveal ways in which discrete linguistic moves contribute to the constitutive work of ethos formation and re-formation.

Journal: Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Published: 2012-10-01
DOI: 10.1080/02773945.2012.704121
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multilingual writers argument

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

Oddo (2013)

Discourse-Based Methods Across Texts and Semiotic Modes

Written Communication

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