Toward a rhetoric of symbolic reparations : overlapping genres in George W. Bush's apology for slavery.

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dc.contributor.advisorGerber, Matthew G.
dc.contributor.authorWagner, Zachary R.
dc.contributor.departmentCommunication Studies.en
dc.contributor.otherBaylor University. Dept. of Communication Studies.en
dc.date.accessioned2010-06-23T12:26:34Z
dc.date.available2010-06-23T12:26:34Z
dc.date.copyright2010-05
dc.date.issued2010-06-23T12:26:34Z
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (p. ).en
dc.description.abstractIn 2003, George W. Bush apologized for slavery at Goree Island in Senegal, which was the site of the largest market for slaves during America's slave period. This apology contains both a mythic and a mundane frame for understanding the crime and sin of slavery, clearly separated by Bush's language choices. Examining both frames allows the best understanding of what Bush attempted to accomplish, displacing blame for a spiritual crime onto a mundane world. This conception allows him to create an America which is mythic, rewrite the historical narrative with black agency responsible for emancipation, and begin a process of identification which is at the heart of reconciliation rhetoric. He both atones and engages image-restoration discourse, and in doing so, avoids many of the criticisms leveled at other examples of both his epideictic discourse and general presidential rhetoric regarding slavery. The literature base surrounding the idea of reparations for slavery presents a clear space where this apology needs to go in order to move past the legacy of slavery and begin the process of reconciliation. I will examine here both the historical and current meanings of reparations, and show how Bush effectively engages reparations rhetoric. This form of symbolic reparations is important, because it is distinct from presidential apology, atonement, jeremiad, reconciliation, and other genres, even though it mixes many of the strategies normally associated with one or more of those forms. Understanding the message is critical to unraveling a complex historical narrative of race regarding Bush, and understanding the current state of United States relationship with slavery.en
dc.description.degreeM.A.en
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityby Zachary R. Wagner.en
dc.format.extent64334 bytes
dc.format.extent770523 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2104/7951
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.rightsBaylor University theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact librarywebmaster@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.en
dc.rights.accessrightsWorldwide accessen
dc.subjectGoree Island.en
dc.subjectGeorge W. Bush.en
dc.subjectPresidential rhetoric.en
dc.subjectApology.en
dc.subjectSlavery.en
dc.subjectReparations.en
dc.titleToward a rhetoric of symbolic reparations : overlapping genres in George W. Bush's apology for slavery.en
dc.typeThesisen

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