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The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric

Sharp, Alexander V
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591216740376073

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Arts (M.A.), University of Dayton, English.
This paper looks at the rhetoric of the Trump administration using the scholarship of Jean Baudrillard as a theoretical lens. Scholars have identified the current era as a time of "post-truth," in which truth has been devalued. The following study examines the connections between instances by the Trump administration that exemplify post-truth rhetoric and Jean Baudrillard's concept of a hyperreality. While rhetorical scholars have disparate definitions of "post-truth" and have identified various sources of the phenomenon, I demonstrate that Baudrillard's theories regarding simulation provide a conceptual framework that better explains the functionality and origins of post-truth. The prevalence of post-truth rhetoric is problematic because it sows distrust in institutions and ideals that are foundational to a functioning democracy. Post-truth rhetoric relies on strategies that are utilized by dictators in pseudo-democracies such as Russia and Hungary to keep the populace uninformed and complacent. Understanding how post-truth rhetoric functions is necessary to counteract its influence.
Margaret Strain, Ph.D (Committee Chair)
Patrick Thomas, Ph.D (Committee Member)
Liz Hutter, Ph.D (Committee Member)
64 p.
Rhetoric
Post-Truth; Post-Modernism; Baudrillard; Trump

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sharp, A. V. (2020). The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric [Master's thesis, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591216740376073

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sharp, Alexander. The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric. 2020. University of Dayton, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591216740376073.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sharp, Alexander. "The Hyperreal Nature of the Trump Administration's Post-Truth Rhetoric." Master's thesis, University of Dayton, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1591216740376073

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.