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Reconceptualizing Civility: A Purposive and Situational Tool
Chick, Daniel Macon
Chick, Daniel Macon
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Abstract
Dual points of consensus in the literature note that civility standards are often useful, but also often oppressive. The purpose of this dissertation is to offer needed common ground between these arguments by advancing an alternative. I argue that civility is a deliberative genre, with its usefulness or oppressiveness determined by various purposes and situations in which deliberation occurs. In other words, some occasions call for strong civility standards, while in others civility standards are inappropriate and public standards for rhetoric should find strong protest not just acceptable but required. I support this approach by proposing three tiers of civility standards that serve as helpful guidelines for scholars and practitioners of rhetoric alike. Tier three includes occasions where strict civility standards, including content and format prohibitions, are required and is validated in chapter two through a case analysis of the April 14, 2021, meeting for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Tier two exists in the middle ground between strict civility and incivility, in which some standards are necessary for productive deliberation. Tier two is validated by a case study of 2020 Presidential Debates between then-President Donald Trump and Democratic Party challenger Joseph Biden, in which strict formatting rules, with no prohibitions on content, ensured a productive outcome. Tier one consists of occasions where public standards for rhetoric should find civility standards unacceptable and conversely, strong, protest is required. Tier one is validated by a case study of the Stonewall Riots. Queer New Yorkers fought back against homophobia using strong forms of protest, including civil disobedience and combative tactics, to ensure a lasting legacy of queer solidarity. These findings provide a principled justification for civility and protest on occasions where they are needed, as well as to reject other irrational forms of violence that exist. They furthermore point to the need for civility standards on occasions where it is important to protect people, especially those on the margins.
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Date
2023-01-01
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University of Kansas
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This item contains archived web content.
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1020778_1.pdf
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Keywords
Communication, Civil Society, Civility, Deliberative Genre, Political Debate, Protest, Violence