Living Proof: Using Autobiographical Argument to Make Political Points in Blogs About Inequality

• In Event: ICA Plenary Interactive Paper/Poster Session I
  In Interactive Paper Session: Political Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

People often cite life experiences as evidence in arguments, though personal experience is far from generalizable. Why? In this paper, I consider the rhetorical dynamics at work in “autobiographical argument” by examining We are the 99 Percent and We are the 53 Percent, two blogs that use autobiographical stories to make discursive points. I argue that autobiographical appeals efficiently use all three of Aristotle’s persuasive “proofs” – logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotion). Then I show that many of the blogs’ stories focus on “redemption,” a theme personality psychologists have found emphasized in the narrative identities, or “stories of self,” of Americans. I argue that autobiographical arguments draw on the cultural and psychological power of life stories.

Author

• Doron Taussig, Annenberg School for Communication/University of Pennsylvania