The Silent Witness Project as Rhetorical Hybrid: Toward a Theory of Collective Mourning

Abstract

Public, visual displays, that aid in the mourning process and summon viewers into action, constitute a rhetorical hybrid that combines epideictic and deliberative rhetoric. This essay suggests a theory of collective mourning that seeks to explain the rhetorical import and function of these multimedia, public displays. The combination of form and content allows the critic to understand how the epideictic and deliberative function in this genre of discourse. After explaining the theory, a case study of the Silent Witness Project follows.