Exploring Classifications and Functions of Topoi as Rhetorical Features in Arab Didactic Socio-Religious TV Shows
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33806/ijaes632Keywords:
argumentation, didactic socio-religious TV shows, Islamic televangelists, persuasion, topoiAbstract
Didactic socio-religious TV shows flourished as a form of post-Arab Spring social reform, aiding in raising public awareness. However, a few studies have investigated topoi as a distinctive feature of argumentative media texts in Arabic. Given the essential role these TV shows play in (re)shaping the audience's mindsets and the persuasive functions of topoi in creating common grounds with them, this study aims to examine the classifications and functions of the topoi manifested in the selected Arab TV shows featuring two influential televangelists: Al-Fitaihi from KSA and Husni from Egypt. Following a qualitative-quantitative approach, (10) episodes from the Saudi show And My Life (2013; 2014) and four episodes from the Egyptian Live the Moment (2014) were randomly selected, manually transcribed, validated for accuracy, and analyzed qualitatively based on Wodak and Meyer's (2001) categories of topoi. The results indicated that the most common topoi include authority, definition, number, danger/threat, advantages/usefulness, reality, and history. This research is the first that highlighted the distinct classifications of topoi employed in Arab socio-religious shows as remarkable features of persuasion and didacticism, significantly contributing to interdisciplinary research of linguistics, rhetoric, and media. The findings imply applying topoi in similar awakening TV shows and in argumentation pedagogy.
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