The Rhetoric of the Financial Crisis: Examining 2007-2009 Federal Open Market Committee Statements

<p>Introduction 3<br>Historical Context 6<br>Corpus 14<br>Analysis 18<br>Theory: Fairclough and Benoit 19<br>Pre 2007: Big Shoes to Fil123<br>March 2006 - August 2007: Adherence to Genre and a Focus on Inflation 25<br>August 2007: Clear Words for Big Problems 30<br>September 2007 - December 2007: Bemanke Finds His Voice 33<br>January 2008 - October 2008: Towards a Crisis Rhetoric 35<br>December 2008: Justifying Zero Percent Rates 37<br>January - December 2009: A Reconsideration of Genre and Rhetorical Goals 41<br>Justifying Aggressive Interventions 46<br>Conclusion: Bemanke's Rhetoric, Vindicated 50<br>Discussion 52<br>Bibliography 55<br>Glossary 59</p>