Overview

Southern rhetoric is communication’s oldest regional study. During its initial invention, the discipline was founded to justify the study of rhetoric in a field of white male scholars analyzing significant speeches by other white men, yielding research that added to myths of Lost Cause ideology and a uniquely oratorical culture. Reconstructing Southern Rhetoric takes on the much-overdue task of reconstructing the way southern rhetoric has been viewed and critiqued within the communication discipline. The collection reveals that southern rhetoric is fluid and migrates beyond geography, is constructed in weak counterpublic formation against legitimated power, creates a region that is not monolithic, and warrants activism and healing. Contributors to the volume examine such topics as political campaign strategies, memorial and museum experiences, television and music influences, commemoration protests, and ethnographic experiences in the South. The essays cohesively illustrate southern identity as manifested in various contexts and ways, considering what it means to be a part of a region riddled with slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other expressions of racial and cultural hierarchy. Ultimately, the volume initiates a new conversation, asking what would southern rhetorical critique be like if it included the richness of the southern culture from which it came? Contributions by Whitney Jordan Adams, Wendy Atkins-Sayre, Jason Edward Black, Patricia G. Davis, Cassidy D. Ellis, Megan Fitzmaurice, Michael L. Forst, Jeremy R. Grossman, Cynthia P. King, Julia M. Medhurst, Ryan Neville-Shepard, Jonathan M. Smith, Ashli Quesinberry Stokes, Dave Tell, and Carolyn Walcott.

Full Product Details

9781496836151

Table of Contents

Reviews

Reconstructing Southern Rhetoric provides a wide and engaging series of essays.--Matthew Teutsch ""Journal of Southern History"" Reconstructing Southern Rhetoric makes important contributions to the various ways in which southern identity is communicated to a variety of audiences. Each chapter addresses the impact that race has on cultural conceptualizations of what it means to be from the southern US. This book is exceptionally timely and essential. Collectively, these chapters contribute to efforts that scholars are making in advancing our public discourse about race.--Tina M. Harris, Manship-Maynard Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy at Louisiana State University

Reconstructing Southern Rhetoric makes important contributions to the various ways in which southern identity is communicated to a variety of audiences. Each chapter addresses the impact that race has on cultural conceptualizations of what it means to be from the southern US. This book is exceptionally timely and essential. Collectively, these chapters contribute to efforts that scholars are making in advancing our public discourse about race.

Reconstructing Southern Rhetoric makes important contributions to the various ways in which southern identity is communicated to a variety of audiences. Each chapter addresses the impact that race has on cultural conceptualizations of what it means to be from the southern US. This book is exceptionally timely and essential. Collectively, these chapters contribute to efforts that scholars are making in advancing our public discourse about race.--Tina M. Harris, Manship-Maynard Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy at Louisiana State University

Author Information

Christina L. Moss is assistant professor of communication at the University of Memphis. Her work has appeared in such publications as Rhetoric Review, Howard Journal of Communications, and the Southern Communication Journal. Brandon Inabinet is associate professor of communication studies and cochair of the Task Force on Slavery and Justice at Furman University. His work has appeared in such publications as Rhetoric Review, Public Culture, and the Southern Communication Journal.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available