Rhetoric and Social Movements

Abstract

US communication scholars turned to social movements in the 1950s to advance theory past its origins in public address. Social movements presented a multiplicity of voices that nonetheless could be heard as one collective demand. As protests against racism, sexism, and war erupted in the 1960s, rhetoric scholars recognized the need for theory and criticism to account for not only the varied number of people involved in social movements—but also the uninstitutionalized, non-normative demands or expressions made. Discourses emanating from intersectional feminism, liberal feminism, gay liberation, Black Power and civil rights protestors, demanded that we center power, privilege, and oppression as organized by social identities. Rhetorical theory was slow, in many ways, to heed this call, as work of the 1970s–1990s continued to rely on resource mobilization or organizational leadership models. However, trends in larger academic conversations influenced rhetorical theory, and “new social movement” study underscored the importance of identities to activism. By the 2000s, the term “social movement” fell out of favor. Instead, concepts such as counterpublics, outlaw rhetoric, vernacular discourse and rhetoric, resistance, emerged. Rather than offering generalizable contributions to “social movement rhetoric,” scholars turned to specific tactics in movements like feminism, HIV/AIDS activism, and the environmental movement, to theorize consciousness-raising, remembrance and polemics, and direct actions to prevent logging. As tactics grew increasingly mediated with the advent of digital technology through the 2000s—particularly “Web 2.0” applications like Facebook and Twitter, which appeared to fuel global actions in the 2010s—rhetoric scholars questioned how much the medium affected the message. Debates over technological determinism return us to questions invited in 1960s protests, such as whether or not “body rhetoric” (like the Black Panthers’ tactic of carrying of assault rifles into the California State Capitol) is effective and ethical. Social movement rhetoric scholars today follow historic protests against racism and a time of swift action against some prominent sexual harassers. As the dust continues to settle following the 2020 US presidential election, scholars are also taking stock of misinformation, echo chambers, and a number of actions which could be construed as right-wing populism and white supremacy. Finally, as youth activists lead the way out of resource intensive, toxic systems that have been oppressing so many/so much for so long, we may consider social movement rhetoric as an inspiration and blueprint for living life in alignment with life on the planet.