Phases of a Rhetorical Movement: 1. Inception; 2. Development; 3. Consummation

Phases of a Rhetorical Movement:

1. Inception 
2. Development
3. Consummation 

Definition: 

1.Inception: The inception is essentially the beginning of a protest movement, or the first time the public begins to notice or to recognize the protest as something serious. The former is more immediate, caused by an event that spurs a protest. The latter implies that the protest movement has been developing over time - somewhat small at the beginning, but gains notice as time goes on. 

2. Development: The development is a time when the opposing side of the protest does something that disrupts the balance existing between the two groups that once existed in the minds of the public. 

3. Consummation: The consummation can be thought of as the end of the protest movement. Consummation can occur multiple ways. The protestors could feel as though they have had success with their movement, and therefore end their protest efforts. It also could happen with the dissipation of the protest movement in general, as a result of lack of order in leadership or from lack of attention from the public. Consummation also refers to protests that have been successful, but have then shifted onto a different idea. 

Example from the text or from a protest movement:

1.Inception:

The creation of any protest movement can be an example of inception, but more specifically, the Civil Rights movement is a protest that occurred more gradually rather than following an immediate event. It developed over time as a result of the injustices and cruelty against the African American community. 

2. Development:

Continuing with the example of the Civil Rights movement, a time of development would be the assassination of MLK. Although the two groups weren’t necessarily totally balanced during earlier times, the MLK assassination definitely shifted the movement, causing one of many development phases in the movement. 

3. Consummation: 

The ending or dissipation of any protest movement that has occurred can be an example of consummation. One example is at the end of a Union strike, when agreements have been made about pay and work conditions that causes the end of the protest and for the employees to return to work. This is an example of a consummation of a protest that is the result of the goal being met. 

Passage from the text that help define or contextualize the term:

“Let us say, further, that within each movement, three phases of developments may be notes: 1. a period of inception, a time when the roots of a pre-existing sentiment, nourished by interested rhetoricians, begin to flower into public notice, or when some striking event occurs which immediately creates a host of aggressor rhetoricians and is itself sufficient to initiate the movement; 2. a period of rhetorical crisis, a time when one of the opposing groups of rhetoricians (perhaps through the forsaking of trite or ineffective appeals, the initiation of new arguments, the employment of additional channels of propagation, or merely through the flooding of existing channels with a moving tide of discourse) succeeds in irrevocable disturbing that balance between the groups which had existed in the mind of the collective audience; and 3. a period of consummation, a time when the great proportion of aggressor rhetoricians abandon their efforts, either because they are convinced that opinion has been satisfactorily developed and the cause won, or because they are convinced that perseverance is useless, or merely because they meet the press of new interests.” (Griffin 11)

Works Cited:

Griffin, Leland M. "The Rhetoric of Historical Movements." Readings in the Rhetoric of Social Protest. Browne, Stephen Howard, and Charles E. Morris III, eds. State College, PA: Strata Publishing, Inc., 2013.