Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts
Major
English
Date of Defense
4-30-2020
Graduate Advisor
Lauren Obermark
Committee
Lauren Obermark
Suellynn Duffey
Eamon Wall
Abstract
This project focuses on the Forward through Ferguson Report, a commission report written by appointed commissioners after the protests of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. While the first chapter of my thesis focuses on the report itself and commission reports as a genre, the second chapter analyzes the most recent report, the State of Police Reform, from an ecological lens. Throughout the project, I kept returning to the question Susan Wells posed in a recent interview with Composition Forum, revisiting one she first asked in her oft-cited 1996 essay: what do we want from public rhetoric at this time? This thesis explores the ways the common struggles within and surrounding these reports, including the Forward through Ferguson Report, offer insight to answering Well’s question, as well as offering insights into how discomfort and messy processes are necessary parts of public rhetoric, writing, and community engagement.
Recommended Citation
Ramer, Nicole, "Sustainable Hope: An Analysis of the Rhetorical Process of the Forward through Ferguson Commission Report" (2020). Theses. 386.
https://irl.umsl.edu/thesis/386