Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Communication

Committee Chair

Andre JOHNSON

Committee Member

Antonio de Velasco

Committee Member

Gray Matthews

Committee Member

William Duffy

Abstract

While the rhetorical structure of the Black eulogy is rooted in the Aristotelian genre of eulogy in the Greek tradition, it continues to develop beyond that tradition in response to American socio-cultural exigencies that shape it. The Black eulogy has matured rhetorically through the hardships of slavery, structural oppression, and institutionalized violence to develop a prophetic rhetorical path to succor and give hope to a community weary from the diurnal inequities of oppression made palpable at the death of African American icons. Using a close reading, this study establishes the Black eulogy’s rhetorical foundation in the Aristotelian rhetorical genre, while demonstrating that the Black eulogy is an iteration of public rhetorical theology that engages the Academy. Through a lens of Black Liberation Theology rooted in the African American rhetorical tradition, this study analyzes the eulogies of four iconic African Americans, arguing that these iconic Black eulogies are not only proper iterations of prophetic rhetoric that engage the Academy, but they reveal a prescription of rhetorical components that the Black eulogy must follow.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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