Amplifying argument

Abstract

In the aftermath of World War I, the US Government created eight cemeteries in France, Belgium, and the UK to honor American soldiers who died in Europe as well as to remind European audiences of that sacrifice. More recently, visitor centers were added to some of those sites. This essay explores how one of those visitor centers, located at Flanders Field American Cemetery in Belgium, serves to amplify the cemeteries’ public diplomacy argument. We argue that amplification, as described by classical and more contemporary theorists, serves an important function in argumentation, and that these centers themselves deserve greater attention as they provide direction to visitors in making the place matter. In this analysis, we also consider the recursive relationship between text/argument and context in site interpretation.