Defense Date

8-23-2019

Graduation Date

Fall 12-20-2019

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Ronald C. Arnett

Committee Member

Jean Hardin Fritz

Committee Member

Erik Garrett

Keywords

Play Rhetoric Ludic Kant Gadamer Bultmann Hermeneutics

Abstract

Voices on the horizon: A theory of ludic rhetoric begins with the assumption that rhetoric and play offer hope for cooperation and community in a fragmented and divided world. Rhetoric and play share an intellectual trajectory in the history of ideas. The earliest use of the terms rhetor and rhetoric in the Western tradition encouraged playful cooperation. The move toward reason and science during the Enlightenment relegated rhetoric to mere techniques for persuasion and silenced alternative avenues for seeking truth. Reclaiming traditional rhetoric as a meeting place for potential negotiation and cooperation encourages constructive civic discourse. The conclusion of this dissertation proposes that attention to the play of rhetoric in the history of ideas opens the possibility for teaching rhetorical theory as an appreciative praxis for the enrichment of others in discourse and encourages cooperation over consensus. This is ludic rhetoric.

Language

English

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