"SURPRISE! YOU'RE DEAD!" : THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER AND OPENING STATEMENTS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

Abstract

This dissertation explores the ways in which various powerful groups used different genres of opening statements to create and control the version of the reality of a high stakes situation, namely, the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Specifically, in the dissertation I identify and analyze the features and rhetorical moves that typify the genres of legal and non-legal opening statements, and focus on the communicative dynamics that define interactions between speakers and audiences in court opening statements, Congressional opening statements, and public press conference statements. I use critical discourse analysis and genre analysis to pinpoint the rhetorical moves used in each genre of opening statements. I make the claim that legal court opening statements use epideictic rhetoric to convince decision makers to act in a particular way. I also make visible the connections that exist between technical and professional communicators and the development of corporate business texts, focusing particularly on positive changes needed in the field, including increased participation in the construction of texts for businesses, and need for using their experience, expertise and ethics to also advocate for the common good.