Individual Presentation or Panel Title
The Temporary Success of Mary Fisher’s “A Whisper of AIDS”
Abstract
This report examines the rhetorical techniques utilized by Mary Fisher in her 1992 speech “A Whisper of AIDS,” including persona, evidence, and thesis. In this speech, Fisher asserts that AIDS awareness is an important issue which affects everyone, and that anyone is at risk of AIDS infection, even if they believe they are safe. In this research, I explore Fisher’s shifting persona, which changes from mother to Republican to AIDS community member, and the ways in which it helped her identify with her audience. I pinpoint instances in which Fisher uses striking evidence to support her claim. Lastly, I explain how Fisher’s choice to focus on the concept of AIDS awareness instead of the application may have deprived her audience of critical information needed for long-term change. This report suggests that these rhetorical choices made Fisher’s speech effective in the short term, but not long-lasting, based on Fisher’s own observations.
Location
Glass Dining Room
Start Date
3-5-2014 2:30 PM
End Date
3-5-2014 3:20 PM
The Temporary Success of Mary Fisher’s “A Whisper of AIDS”
Glass Dining Room
This report examines the rhetorical techniques utilized by Mary Fisher in her 1992 speech “A Whisper of AIDS,” including persona, evidence, and thesis. In this speech, Fisher asserts that AIDS awareness is an important issue which affects everyone, and that anyone is at risk of AIDS infection, even if they believe they are safe. In this research, I explore Fisher’s shifting persona, which changes from mother to Republican to AIDS community member, and the ways in which it helped her identify with her audience. I pinpoint instances in which Fisher uses striking evidence to support her claim. Lastly, I explain how Fisher’s choice to focus on the concept of AIDS awareness instead of the application may have deprived her audience of critical information needed for long-term change. This report suggests that these rhetorical choices made Fisher’s speech effective in the short term, but not long-lasting, based on Fisher’s own observations.