Arshia Anwer

Defense Date

5-16-2016

Graduation Date

Summer 1-1-2016

Availability

One-year Embargo

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Communication and Rhetorical Studies

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Erik Garrett

Committee Member

Calvin Troup

Committee Member

Pat Arneson

Keywords

activism, intersubjectivity, postcolonial theory, public relations, rhetorical theory, transnational public relations

Abstract

This dissertation takes up Wakefield’s (1992) call to build theory for international practices of public relations activities. It offers a transnational approach to public relations, providing a theoretical foundation and a case study for the conceptualization of transnational public relations. The theory and practice of transnational public relations proposed in this dissertation incorporates a rhetorical approach that is sensitive to the social, political, cultural, religious and gender issues inherent in postcolonial spaces. Eschewing a rhetorical approach based on civil society discourses or democratic institutional discourses, this project is attentive to listening and responding to a multiplicity of voices in incorporating a culture-centered approach to public relations in postcolonial societies. The theory is rooted in an intersubjective approach that seeks to understand the lived experience of the Other, specifically the realistic situation of the lived experience of marginalized peoples. In particular, this dissertation studies the application of transnational public relations in activist contexts through the case study of a nongovernmental organization working on the ground in postcolonial nations in order to make space for women in the Afghan public sphere. In its activist transnational public relations work, the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) aims to uncover the possibilities of rhetorical interruptions to dominant discourses and hegemonic employment of power in the Afghan public sphere.

Format

PDF

Language

English

Download

Share

COinS