Graduation Term
4-13-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
School of Communication
Committee Chair
Joseph P. Zompetti
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the use of self-deprecating humor as a rhetorical strategy by figures in positions of authority. A close textual analysis is performed on eight White House Correspondents' Dinner speeches by U.S. presidents. Two speeches are analyzed from each of the four chosen presidents. The presidents whose respective uses of self-deprecating humor will be analyzed are Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Recommended Citation
Sorenson, Brian, "To Thine Own Self Be Cruel: an Analysis of the Use of Self-Deprecating Humor as a Rhetorical Strategy by Figures in Positions of Authority" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 129.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/129
DOI
http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2014.Sorenson.B
Page Count
169
Included in
Communication Commons, Political Science Commons, Rhetoric Commons