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“Just Another Day in 2016”: Reconciling Paradox Through the Millennial Rhetorical Style

Sun, May 28, 15:30 to 16:45, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Floor: 4, Sapphire 410B

Abstract

The millennial generation is characterized by paradox and contradiction. Empirical research indicates that individuals born between 1981 and 1997 tend to be relatively distrustful of traditional social institutions and suspicious of the challenging conditions they are confronting as they enter adulthood. Paradoxically, millennials also tend to be the most optimistic, confident, and civically engaged generation in recent memory. This paper examines the symbolic resources, cultural fictions, and discursive structures millennials develop and deploy to make sense of this paradox. We identify a unique style well equipped for making sense of these paradoxical conditions. More specifically, we use multi-platform media company theSkimm to identify three distinctive features of millennial rhetorical style: destabilization of problematic conventions, the revitalization of popular culture, and the encouragement of collective engagement. We close with a discussion of important insights for our pedagogy, discipline, and marginalized groups using language as a means of intervention.

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