Rhetorical Leadership in Organizational Conflict and Change: Case Studies of Antiracist Preaching

Author

Steven Tramel Gaines

Date

2020

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Communication

Committee Chair

Andre Johnson

Committee Member

Dave Bland

Committee Member

Christina Moss

Committee Member

Gray Matthews

Abstract

This study investigates how leaders call for change while also caring for their organizations. The theoretical framework comes from the interdisciplinary study of a type of religious communication called prophetic rhetoric, developed by scholars of communication, English, and homiletics. That framework is used here in the analyses of speeches and public letters by leaders who challenge ideologies and practices shaped by and contributing to racial injustice. More specifically, this dissertation studies how audiences white fragility leads to constrained prophetic rhetoric that is a communication strategy inviting change without destroying organizations or being expelled from them. From analyses of such rhetoric in religious contexts, this study produces a model of pastoral rhetoric that combines nurture and challenge and can apply to leadership in other types of organizations.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

Recommended Citation

Gaines, Steven Tramel, "Rhetorical Leadership in Organizational Conflict and Change: Case Studies of Antiracist Preaching" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2550.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/2550