Creating an identity of persuasion in history texts

Resumo

When writing science authors tend to manifest themselves as authorities in the topic or field they are dealing with. In the case of history texts and considering that these represent a segmental accumulation of knowledge, authors use different discursive strategies to create the identities of the subjects they are referring to. One of these strategies consists in using a particular type of verbs, suasive verbs in this case, so as to elaborate an atmosphere of power and persuasion around these third-person subjects. Writers of science, acting as holders of knowledge and covertly expressing their viewpoints, project an image of these actors which exerts an influence on the readership. By way of illustration, this chapter focuses on the specific use of the verb demand and analyses how semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects must be considered together for a complete description of identities of persuasion.