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Ashley Granquist

Professor Gardiakos

ENC1102

3 February 2023

Genre and Intertextuality in the Political and Philosophical Community

Research communities are composed of a variety of different features that make them

unique from one another. One of the most easily recognizable features of a community is their

genre of communication. Texts in a research community use the same genre to establish a

method of communication that shares the same patterns, organization, and vocabulary (Jacobson

et al., 218). This structure of communication allows for authors in a research community to

actively participate in conversations and share ideas. By utilizing a specific genre, research

communities are also more easily able to achieve their collective goals.

When analyzing a genre, one of the first things to consider is the structure of the article.

Marianne Constable’s “Words Matter” takes on a traditional structure of an article within a

research community. She begins by giving the audience a general outline of her article’s

argument and purpose, how the Trump Era influenced language and nihilism in political society

(50). This beginning summary is an aspect that you can find in almost any research article, and

easily defines which research community it is going to cater towards. In this case, Constable

name-drops philosophers like Nietzsche and Arendt, names that are only particularly important

to members of the philosophical research community (49). Constable’s article is divided into two
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main arguments: President Trump’s misuse of language, and the parallels between the current

political climate and Nietzsche’s take on nihilism. This creates a natural progression in her

article from one argument to the next. By beginning with her argument on Trump’s language,

Constable sets up the reader with a basis of knowledge before transitioning into his relation to

philosophy. Constable establishes both ends of her argument, Trump and Nietzsche’s nihilism,

before tying them both together in her final argument on “Trumpism” (53). She caters to both the

political and philosophical communities in one article, effectively communicating how one

influences the other. The general structure of this research article allows Constable to

successfully engage in the conversation of both research communities.

Particular terminology allows Constable to join in on the conversation within the

philosophical research community. During various parts of her article, Constable mentions

specific ideas from philosophers like Plato and Socrates (52). By using more well-known

philosophers, Constable establishes more credibility with her audience. Other members of a

community are more compelled to listen to an author who references already well-established

sources. Constable also delves into specific parts of Nietzsche’s idea of nihilism, like the six

moments in metaphysical history of Western thought (51). To someone not in the community of

philosophy, that statement makes absolutely no sense. But in order to engage in conversations

within a research community, it is important to be able to reference previous works in that

community. Constable’s article is essentially an academic response to Nietzsche’s “How the

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‘True World’ at Last Became a Fable” and its relation to the modern world (51). The process of

responding to another member of a community is what drives an academic conversation.

Academic conversations in research communities are made possible through the use of

intertextuality, which James Porter in his piece “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community”

defines as “the principle that all writing and speech… arise from a single network (34).

Intertextuality allows an author to take inspiration from other works and use them to create a

response of their own. Outside sources can be used by an author to either support or counter their

own argument and contribute to the academic conversation.

Constable utilizes intertextuality from a variety of sources to support her overall

argument and to establish credibility. The main source, Nietzsche’s history of reason, makes up a

large portion of her article, as well as support from Hannah Arendt and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Constable’s inclusion of Nietzsche’s creates the basis of her article’s argument, the

relation of nihilism to the political climate around Donald Trump. She opens her second segment

with a summary of Nietzsche’s work, “How the ‘True World’ at Last Became a Fable”,

explaining the six moments in the history of reason. Instead of just reiterating Nietzsche’s piece,

Constable goes on to give her own takeaways from his piece in a modern sense (52-53).

Constable uses Nietzsche’s words to further her own argument about nihilism. By incorporating

his words and phrases in her own words, Constable creates a response to his work and can start a

conversation in the philosophical community. Although Constable seems to relay heavily on

Nietzsche’s concepts at first glance, she shifts the conversation from what some members may

see as outdated philosophy and gives it a more modern take. Introducing historical ideas like
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Nietzsche’s into the conversation of politics gives Constable a more unique perspective within

the research community.

While Constable mostly relies on Nietzsche as an outside source, she also looks to

Hannah Arendt, a political theorist, to connect her political and philosophical ideas. Constable

begins her article with an argument from Arendt that politics revolves around words (49).

Constable rarely references Arendt directly in her piece, choosing instead to show how Arendt

has influenced her ideas through her own words. Arendt makes mention of utilitarianism in her

works and its relation to language, which Constable later alludes to when she argues how Trump

has made himself “impossible to debate with” through his use of denial and falsehoods (50).

Despite only using Arendt’s piece sparingly, Constable successfully incorporates her ideas in her

own words to support her argument.

Lastly, Constable uses influences from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical

Investigations. Wittgenstein argues in his piece that words do not have concrete definitions, but

are instead defined by how people understand and use them. Constable takes these ideas in her

statement, “Shared words do not guarantee agreement” (50). The main takeaway from

Constable’s piece on Trump’s language is that his ability to twist words and dismissal of facts

takes the meaning itself away from language and endangers the nature of the truth. Wittgenstein

provides influence for Constable’s argument and the idea of language, as well as providing

support by creating the base for Constable to build her argument on.
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Constable’s article provides a perfect example of how a research community uses genre

and intertextuality to further the academic conversation. The structure of her piece provides the

reader with a solid basis of knowledge to build her argument from, as well as vocabulary specific

to the communities of politics and philosophy. Constable incorporates other sources to build

credibility and support her argument to successfully showcase intertextuality in a research

community.
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Works Cited

Arendt, Hannah. 1958. The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Constable, Mary. “Words Matter” Philosophy and Rhetoric. Vol. 52, No. 1, 2019, pp. 49-55.

Jacobson, Brad, Madelyn Pawlowski, and Christine M. Tardy. “Make Your Move: Writing in

Genres” Writing Spaces. Vol. 4, No. 13, pp. 217-238.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. 1968. The Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ. Trans. R. J.

Hollingdale. London: Penguin.

Porter, James E. “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” Rhetoric Review. Vol. 5, No. 1,

1986, pp. 34-47.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. 1958. Philosophical Investigations. Trans. G. E. M. Anscombe. Oxford:

Blackwell.