Radical Rhetoric and The Syrian Revolution: Toward a Telos of Solidarity

Author

Noor Ghazal Ghazal Aswad

Non-English Title

الخطاب الراديكالي والثورة السورية: نحو التضامن

Date

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Communication

Committee Chair

Antonio de Velasco

Abstract

Transnational rhetorical scholarship has yet to enact solidarity with the subaltern. “Inclusionary” efforts have actively excluded what I term the “radical subject,” the subject revolting against repressive hegemonic forces to achieve liberatory change in society. As an intervention, this dissertation conceptualizes the Syrian revolution as a rhetorical performance which enacts a theory of its own agency and possibilities, an expression of a liberatory moment where radical subjects rose from under an authoritarian regime’s historic rule. Within this rhetorical performance, the radical subject serves as the chief protagonist, a subject whose rhetoric is informative of both practice and theory. The Syrian revolution is a litmus test of our ability to stand in solidarity with radical subjects and which defines the stakes for later movements. My research objectives therefore are: (1) to address the Syrian revolution as a rhetorical performance, and by extension, examine radical rhetoric as practice (Rhetorica Utens); and (2) to put forth radical rhetoric as theory (Rhetorica Docens). Here, I propose radical rhetoric as a blueprint of rhetorical practice for how to resolve controversies surrounding transnational social movements which fall into the “confrontation between two world-views.” Radical rhetoric realizes the wisdom in placing the radical subject as the starting point in inquiry in contested spaces where negotiation over meaning is ongoing. It acknowledges the radical subject’s testimony as born of the epistemic relevance of social location, the boundedness of knowledge, and latent credibility. As a theoretical rhetorical framework, radical rhetoric arouses the possibility of solidarity with those in revolutionary liberatory struggle.

Comments

Data is provided by the student

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Embargoed until July 06, 2024

Recommended Citation

Ghazal Aswad, Noor Ghazal, "Radical Rhetoric and The Syrian Revolution: Toward a Telos of Solidarity" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3222.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/3222