The Deepwater Horizon Disaster and Opening
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Abstract “SURPRISE! YOU’RE DEAD!” THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER AND OPENING STATEMENTS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION by Deborah M. Welsh November, 2014 Director of Dissertation: Dr. Donna J. Kain Major Department: English This dissertation explores the ways in which various powerful groups used different genres of opening statements to create and control the version of the reality of a high stakes situation, namely, the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Specifically, in the dissertation I identify and analyze the features and rhetorical moves that typify the genres of legal and non-legal opening statements, and focus on the communicative dynamics that define interactions between speakers and audiences in court opening statements, Congressional opening statements, and public press conference statements. I use critical discourse analysis and genre analysis to pinpoint the rhetorical moves used in each genre of opening statements. I make the claim that legal court opening statements use epideictic rhetoric to convince decision makers to act in a particular way. I also make visible the connections that exist between technical and professional communicators and the development of corporate business texts, focusing particularly on positive changes needed in the field, including increased participation in the construction of texts for businesses, and need for using their experience, expertise and ethics to also advocate for the common good. Keywords: opening statements, epideictic rhetoric, technical and professional communication, primacy, critical discourse analysis, genre theory “SURPRISE! YOU’RE DEAD!” THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER AND OPENING STATEMENTS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION A Dissertation Presented To the Faculty of the Department of English East Carolina University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Deborah M. Welsh November, 2014 © Deborah M. Welsh, 2014 “SURPRISE! YOU’RE DEAD!”: THE DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER AND OPENING STATEMENTS IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION by Deborah M. Welsh APPROVED BY: DIRECTOR OF DISSERTATION: _________________________________________________ Donna J. Kain, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: _______________________________________________________ Brent Henze, Ph.D. COMMITTEE MEMBER: _______________________________________________________ Erin A. Frost, Ph.D COMMITTEE MEMBER: _______________________________________________________ Carmine Scavo, Ph.D. CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH: _____________________________________ Jeffrey Johnson, Ph.D. DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL: ___________________________________________ Paul J. Gemperline, Ph.D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe debts of gratitude to many people who helped me to write this dissertation, most of whom I will never to be able to repay in full. First, I gratefully acknowledge the assistance and support in this project from my Chair, Dr. Donna Kain. Thank you, Dr. Brent Henze, for helping me to expand my focus on the entire project. I also thank Dr. Erin Frost for agreeing to sign on to my committee at a late date. Her knowledge of the Gulf Coast geography and first-hand experience with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is awesome, and her revision suggestions and comments were a breath of fresh air. I especially thank Dr. Carmine Scavo, who guided me through my MPA defense many years ago and is now seeing me through to the end of this dissertation. Thank you most of all to my husband, Dave, who is my hero in every sense of the word, and gave me the courage to go forward on the worst days. Thank you to Vince and Crystal, Bridget and Joseph, and Dixie, whose telephone calls, texts and Facebook posts and videos of my precious grandbabies made me smile and laugh and remember what is really important in life. Finally, I dedicate this work to my angel granddaughter in heaven, Catharine. TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ............................................................................................................................. i Copyright Page.................................................................................................................... ii Signature Page ................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction And Background ........................................................................................ 1 Research Context ....................................................................................................................... 10 Deepwater Horizon Disaster Background ............................................................................. 10 The Criminal Case and Trial ................................................................................................. 12 The Civil Case and Trial ....................................................................................................... 12 Multi-District Litigation (MDL) ........................................................................................... 13 Opening Statements ................................................................................................................... 16 The broad uses of the term “opening statement”................................................................... 20 The MDL opening statement ................................................................................................. 21 Importance of Ethical Knowledge Transfer to TPC Professionals ............................................ 22 Corporate culture and technical communication ................................................................... 24 Corporate criminal acts ......................................................................................................... 28 Research Gap ............................................................................................................................. 30 Opening statements and constitutive rhetoric ............................................................................ 33 Language and social practice ..................................................................................................... 34 Kairos .................................................................................................................................... 35 Epideictic vs. Forensic Rhetoric ............................................................................................ 36 Content, Organization and Analytical Approach .................................................................. 40 Chapter 2: Review Of Literature .................................................................................................... 42 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) ........................................................................................... 42 Evolving Views of Genre in the Literature of Rhetoric and Professional Communication ..................................................................................................... 53 Discourse communities/communities of practice and genre use ........................................... 54 Opening Statements and Genre ................................................................................................. 56 Genre, Legal Jargon and Plain English ................................................................................. 58 Kairos and the Importance of Primacy ...................................................................................... 61 Opening statements and epideictic rhetoric ............................................................................... 64 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................................ 67 Qualitative Research .................................................................................................................. 68 Data Collection and Rationale ................................................................................................... 69 Court Documents ................................................................................................................... 71 Judge’s Amended Pre-Trial Order ........................................................................ 72 Trial Transcripts .................................................................................................... 72 Criminal Documents. ............................................................................................ 73 Congressional Testimony ...................................................................................................... 74 Presidential Press Conference Transcripts ............................................................................ 74 Peripheral Media Data ........................................................................................................... 75 Analytical Framework ............................................................................................................... 75 Coding the Data: Critical Discourse Analysis ......................................................................