Date of Award

5-1-2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

Abstract

A Rhetorical Analysis o f Value Claims in the Glenn Beck Program explores the use o f rhetoric to promote morals and traditional Judaeo-Christian values on Glenn Beck’s radio program to the greater society. This value analysis seeks to reveal the quality o f the argumentation that is implemented and a selection o f the theoretical reasons for its appeal to the program’s listeners. The program extols a traditional Judaeo- Christian view that is not commonly seen or practiced in America after the decade o f the 1940s. The radio program seeks to counter the inroads o f modernism and postmodernism in society’s psyche through an array o f rhetorical criticism, humor, sarcasm, and storytelling. The traditional Judaeo-Christian values advocated by the Glenn Beck Program are in contention with the scientific perspectives o f modernism and the humanistic perspectives o f postmodernism. The suppositions o f the host are intentionally biased representing a historical metaphysical viewpoint in opposition to the advances and promises made by science. Glenn Beck’s traditional metaphysical arguments criticize the premise o f proportional values and relativism that he concludes are a part o f postmodernism’s fabric.

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