From Prophecy to Advocacy: A Rhetorical Analysis of Al Gore's Enactment of Climate Crisis Management
Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to engage in a "rich…robust explanation of the communication practices that constitute, sustain, and transform environmental crises" (Schwarze, 2007, p. 92).In undertaking this task, I propose an analogy comparing Al Gore, an environmental activist, to a crisis manager in an organization.The focus of this study will be the ways in which Gore creates a sense of urgency while also mobilizing his audience to action.Combining the application of an organizational communication perspective, enacted sensemaking, with rhetorical analysis, this study seeks to build climate crisis communication theory.Traditional crisis management literature tends to limit analysis to the strategies used by managers to re-actively frame an organizational crisis.Al Gore represents a unique case study because rather than deemphasizing the crisis, Gore pro-actively constructs climate crisis through his public discourse.In this way, Gore enacts climate crisis management.Thus, this study represents an alternate application of traditional crisis management literature through the examination of the rhetorical techniques by which Gore continuously re-constitutes global climate crisis.Borrowing the crisis management terminology from crisis communication literature, I posit that Al Gore can be viewed as an activist crisis manager.Using Weick's (1988) theory of enacted sensemaking as the primary theoretical lens, Gore's 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, his 2007 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, and selected pages from the We Campaign website are analyzed as a sequence of public address, framing the crisis situation over time, while also constructing Gore's crisis manager persona as well as the persona of his audience.encouragement not only during the process of writing this thesis but through my entire graduate experience.Dr. Depoe told me once that I had the potential to be a scholar, a title I never considered myself worthy of holding.This project is my effort to live up to that potential.Despite a barrage of emails, unannounced office drop-ins (on top of regularly scheduled weekly meetings), manuscript and class project ideas, and Ph.D. program advice, Dr. Depoe has been there every step of the way.In him I have found a life-long mentor and friend.I thank Dr. Boys for her invitation into a new field of research.Without her guidance I could not have completed this project.I would also like to thank my family and friends for their love and support through this process.Their constant re-telling of Al Gore jokes kept total exhaustion at bay while boosting my academic confidence.I am especially grateful for my love, Ben, whose patience knows no bounds.viTable of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………..v Contents………………………………………………………………………………………..
Author: Kathleen P. Hunt
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2222971667