Explore the topic of migration through the lens of language, the words and images people use to frame the migration debate in ways that further certain ideological positions. Encounter language that dehumanises and objectifies, language that categorises, assumes, derides, divides, and villainises – and also language that rehumanises, cutting through the media noise to tell stories of living people with hopes, dreams and dignity.
You can think of a speaker as an artist or craftsperson and ethos, pathos and logos All speeches contain three basic ingredients: ethos, pathos and logos. These are the terms used by the ancient Greeks to describe the different ways a speech appealed to an audience. Ethos refers to the trustworthiness of the speaker: it is what gives the speaker the right to stand before an audience. Ethos can be understood as a process of establishing credit with an audience, and building confidence in the listener. Pathos is any part of the speech that appeals to our emotions (the word shares a root with pathetic, sympathy and empathy). Whenever speakers remind you to be patriotic, make you smile or frown, or make you feel guilty they are appealing to your emotions. Logos is the part of the speech that appeals to our sense of logic and all good speeches do this. Statistics, arguments with sound premises, and examples of reasoning are all indicative of a logical approach to winning over the audience. the framework upon which the artisan works. Hone your own knowledge of these rhetorical tools, and how to recognize and appreciate them in speeches you study.
Propaganda can be dangerous when it is used on an uninformed public: people are easily persuaded because they do not have counter-arguments to the information they are being given. You may think you are immune to propaganda – but living in a digital age does not always make it easier to detect the techniques involved. It requires a conscious effort to be critical, work on your media literacy, and to stay alert for argumentative fallacies.
IB Language and Literature 3.0 