A Critical discourse analysis of Lyndon B. Johnson's "The Great Society" Speech

Abstract

On May 22, 1964, at the University of Michigan, the American President, Lyndon B. Johnson delivered “The Great Society” speech on the occasion of graduation. In this commencement speech, Johnson presented his vision of a great society and he discussed the main issues of the American country. The present research seeks to examine the ideologies embedded in this speech relying on the Fairclough’s model (1992) of critical discourse analysis, which is divided into three dimensions that are text, discursive practice, and social practice. The main aim of this study is to find out the ideological strategies and the persuasive techniques used by the former president to portray the great society and to call the college graduates to action in order to make his vision a reality. The results of the analysis of the text show that Lyndon B. Johnson used mainly rewording, overwording, and repetition. Additionally, the analysis of the discursive practice indicates that Johnson used intertextuality in order to emphasise his point of view. Besides, the analysis of the social practice demonstrates that the ideologies of the former president are clearly stated in his speech and he did not exercise power over his audience. To conclude, the Fairclough’s model allows a thorough analysis of the speech under study, mainly from the linguistic and the sociological perspectives.