Identification

How rhetoric creates a sense of “we.”

What identification means

Kenneth Burke argued that persuasion often works through identification: people become rhetorically connected when they perceive shared interests, values, experiences, identities, or symbols. A communicator persuades not only by presenting arguments but by creating a sense of consubstantiality—a feeling that speaker and audience share something meaningful (Burke, 1969).

Why it matters

Messages frequently invite audiences to see themselves as members of a group: citizens, consumers, fans, generations, communities, or people who share a moral commitment. These invitations can build solidarity, but they can also create boundaries between an imagined “us” and “them.”

How to use it

Look for pronouns such as “we,” “our,” and “people like us.” Identify shared stories, heroes, enemies, values, styles, or experiences that create belonging. Then ask who is included in the identity the message constructs—and who may be excluded.

Example

A campaign saying “We are all in this together” does more than state a proposition. It asks diverse individuals to adopt a common identity and interpret the situation through that shared membership.

Questions for the field

What does this concept help you notice in the message?
Which words, images, symbols, or choices provide the strongest evidence?
How might another audience interpret the same message differently?

References

Burke, K. (1969). A rhetoric of motives. University of California Press. (Original work published 1950)

George Herbert Mead and Symbolic Interactionism

George Herbert Mead argued that the self develops through symbolic interaction. People learn who they are by interpreting gestures, language, and the responses of others. Identification begins long before formal persuasion through everyday participation in families, schools, religions, workplaces, sports, and online communities (Mead, 1934).

Herbert Blumer named this perspective symbolic interactionism, emphasizing that meanings emerge through interaction and interpretation (Blumer, 1969).

Burke and Consubstantiality

Burke argued that persuasion succeeds when people become consubstantial: distinct individuals who experience a shared identity or purpose (Burke, 1969).

Additional Perspectives

Henri Tajfel and John Turner explain how group identities shape belonging (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), while Jerome Bruner shows how narrative helps people construct identity (Bruner, 1990).

Questions for Investigation

Who is 'we'?
Who is excluded?
What symbols produce belonging?
How do stories reinforce identity?

References

Blumer (1969); Bruner (1990); Burke (1969); Mead (1934); Tajfel & Turner (1979).