The evolution of radical rhetoric : radical Baby Boomer discourse on Facebook in the 21st century

This thesis examines how Baby Boomers utilize Facebook to promote radical political ideology. A convenience sample of 51 Baby Boomer Facebook profiles were selected and critically analyzed for radical content using Bernard L.Brock’s (1965) A Definition of Four Political Positions and a Description of their Rhetorical Characteristics, and Making Sense of Political Ideology: The Language of Democracy (Brock, et al., 2005). The rhetoric from these profiles was then categorized using James W. Chesebro’s (1972) Rhetorical Strategies of the Radical Revolutionary. Conclusions from the research indicate that radical Boomers on Facebook seem to have moved from real world activism to symbolic action on Facebook through the liking and sharing of radical articles and posts. Though consistent in posting radical content in their profiles, radical Boomers using Facebook in this study utilized profiles more to promote radical culture online than to foment political revolution offline.Department of TelecommunicationsThesis (M.A.