An African Athens: Rhetoric and the Shaping of Democracy in South Africa (Volume in the Rhetoric, Knowledge, and Society Series)

An African Athens offers 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 Athens highlights South Africa as a test case for global democracy, for rhetoric, and for the relevance of rhetoric studies in a postmodern democracy.

An African Athens offers 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 Athens highlights South Africa as a test case for global democracy, for rhetoric, and for the relevance of rhetoric studies in a postmodern democracy.

"An African Athens: Rhetoric and the Shaping of Democracy in South Africa offers an analysis of a new ecology of rhetoric - the reshaping of a nation into a democracy through rhetorical means. Author Philippe-Joseph Salazar examines the rhetorical transformation of South Africa from a nation divided by apartheid to a nation united in diversity. The remarkable case of South Africa raises fundamental 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 the post-cold war era, and provides a study of the demise of apartheid in 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 Athens highlights South Africa as a test case for the relevance of rhetoric studies in postmodern democracy."--BOOK JACKET. This work is not a history of the transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa; instead it is an analysis of a new ecology of rhetoric. Its aim is to arrive at a general view of issues as they have taken shape in the particular South Africa experience In the early 1990s, when South Africa emerged from a culture of secrecy into democratic openness, "transparency" and "accountability" became the new tropes by which state and public officeholders began measuring their own newly acquired rhetoric. This volume analyzes how public rhetoric, argumentation, and discourse led to the successful change in government in South Africa. Intended for scholars and students in rhetoric, speech, political communication, persuasion, and related areas.