An African Athens: Rhetoric and the Shaping of Democracy in South Africa

by Salazar; Philippe-Joseph

• ISBN13: 9780805833416
• ISBN10: 0805833412
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-02-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

An African Athensoffers an analysis of a new ecology of rhetoric--the reshaping of a nation into a democracy through rhetorical means. Author Philippe-Joseph Salazar provides a general view of issues as they have taken shape in the apartheid and post-apartheid South African experience, presenting the country as a remarkable stage for playing out the great themes of public deliberation and the rise of postmodern rhetorical democracy. Salazar's intimate vantage point focuses on the striking case of a democracy won at the negotiating table and also won every day in public deliberation. This volume presents a full-scale rhetorical analysis of a democratic transformation in post-Cold War era, and provides a study of the demise of apartheid and post-apartheid from the standpoint of political and public rhetoric and communication. In doing so, it serves as a template for similar enquiries in the rhetorical study of emerging democracies. Intended for readers engaged in the study of political and public rhetoric with an interest in how democracy takes shape,An African Athenshighlights South Africa as a test case for global democracy, for rhetoric, and for the relevance of rhetoric studies in a postmodern democracy.

Author Biography

Philippe-Joseph Salazar is Distinguished Professor in Humane Letters at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Director of the Program in Rhetoric and Democracy at the College International de Philosophie, Paris.

Table of Contents

About the Author	ix
Series Editor's Foreword	xi
Charles Bazerman
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xix
Desmond Tutu: The Oratorical Link	1	(17)
An Oratorical Frame for Nation-Building	2	(2)
Putting the Case for the Nation	4	(3)
The Orator as Historian of the Nation	7	(3)
An Oratorical Transformation	10	(5)
Theology and the Oratory of Liberation	15	(3)
``So to Speak'': The Rhetoric of Mandela	18	(14)
A Speech Never Comes Alone	19	(2)
A Speech on the Birth of a Nation	21	(3)
The Logic of National Imagery	24	(3)
Rhetorical Valediction	27	(5)
The Two Rhetorics of the Presidency	32	(22)
Presidency, Praise, and Prudence	33	(8)
Narratives of Empowerment	41	(2)
The Rhetoric of the ``African Renaissance''	43	(11)
Democratic Deliberations	54	(21)
Constitutional Communication and Simulacra	58	(2)
How to Write Constitutional Texts	60	(5)
Troping the People	65	(10)
Reconciliation and Rhetoric	75	(18)
Rituals of Delivery	77	(2)
Demonstrating the Social Contract	79	(3)
Rhetoric, Reconciliation, and Truth-Telling	82	(3)
The Rhetorical Conundrum of Privacy	85	(4)
Bowdlerizing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission	89	(4)
The ``True Colours'' of Popular Deliberation	93	(15)
The Corporate Body Politic	94	(3)
Rhetorical Reportage	97	(7)
Rhetorical Statistics	104	(4)
The Rhetorical Cosmetics of Peace	108	(24)
The Cosmetic Shape of Democracy	108	(2)
Deliberating on Black in Elle	110	(7)
Rhetorics of National Pride	117	(5)
Sport as Rhetoric of Peace	122	(10)
Space as Democratic Deliberation	132	(25)
Human Space as Deliberation	133	(7)
A Rhetorical Matrix for Space	140	(1)
Space as Distinction	141	(5)
The Eloquence of Functionality	146	(6)
Praising Beautiful Spaces	152	(5)
Conclusion: Robben Island as Foundation Rhetoric	157	(10)
Appendix I	167	(4)
Appendix II	171	(10)
Appendix III	181	(6)
Notes	187	(28)
References	215	(8)
General	215	(3)
South Africa	218	(5)
Author Index	223	(2)
Subject Index	225