Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2021

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Communication

Degree Program

Communication, MA

Committee Chair

Paliewicz, Nicholas

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Walker, Kandi

Committee Member

Walker, Kandi

Committee Member

Theriot, Nancy

Author's Keywords

fascistic argumentation; post-dialectics; Toulmin model; trans issues; public sphere; argumentation

Abstract

For the past decade, trans rights issues have been a legal topic of discussion and are still discussed publicly in 2021. This thesis researched how arguments surrounding anti-trans issues were successful in the United States. The arguments surrounding these issues are important to study to see how they pass within society and if traditional rules of argumentation are changing. This thesis proposes that traditional dialectical argument is no longer occurring and has taken a post-dialectical turn. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the kinds of arguments used in these issues and build the case that they are evidence of an emergent problematics for argumentation and rhetorical studies: fascistic argumentation. This thesis argues that specific ‘masks’ are used to facilitate fascistic argumentation in the public sphere undetected

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