Writing Rhetorical Histories of Modern Revolutions [microform] : Rhetoric and Political Change in Poland, 1952-1992 / Cezar M. Ornatowski
- Bib ID:
- 5581006
- Format:
- Book and Microform
- Author:
- Ornatowski, Cezar M
- Online Version:
- https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED381777
Broken link? let us search Trove , the Wayback Machine , or Google for you.
- Description:
-
- [Washington, D.C.] : Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 1995
- 16 p.
- Summary:
-
In the last 6 years, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been undergoing fundamental political reinvention. Scholars of language, literacy, and rhetoric can learn much from the study of rhetorical histories. Accordingly, a brief rhetorical history of these upheavals, particularly those in Poland, reveals the extent to which they are very much about the language of politics and public debate. According to literary professor Michal Glowinski, the major characteristic of Communist rhetoric in Poland was the dominance of simple, direct evaluation over sense. Such evaluations were always based on clear oppositions and polarizations: us vs. them, friend vs. foe, good vs. bad. It was thus a language that was already overinterpreted; each work, each expression, had one meaning and one meaning only. Because of this semantic reduction it did not tolerate synonyms or alternative ways of expression. Another major characteristic of this language was its strong "magical" quality: its orientation not towards describing reality but towards bringing it about. Desirable states were talked about as though they already existed. In the 1980s, public frustration and demands for real dialogue and meaningful reforms, coupled with a deteriorating economy, led to an acute rhetorical crisis. Ironically, Solidarity entered the elections with a program whose articulation painfully resembled, in spite of the differences in substance, the traditional rhetoric of propaganda. One problem continuing to face Poland is the persistence of the polarizing, valuative rhetoric, which originated in totalitarian discourse. (TB)
- Notes:
-
- ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (46th, Washington, DC, March 23-25, 1995).
- May also be available online. Address as at 14/8/18: https://eric.ed.gov/
- Reproduction:
- Microfiche. [Washington D.C.]: ERIC Clearinghouse microfiches : positive.
- Subject:
- Genre/Form:
- Available From:
- ERIC
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
You may copy under some circumstances, for example you may copy a portion for research or study. Order a copy through Copies Direct to the extent allowed under fair dealing. Contact us for further information about copying.
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary, dramatic or musical work
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 1995
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
Request this item
Request this item to view in the Library’s reading room.
Similar items
- Wāthawiphāk Tawantok : (Khō̜. Sō̜. 1925-patčhuban) kap paribot Thai / ʻŌrawan Pilanthaʻōwāt
- Explorations in rhetorical criticism, edited by G. P. Mohrmann, Charles J. Stewart [and] Donovan J. Ochs
- Rhetorical dimensions in criticism [by] Donald C. Bryant
- Speech criticism : the development of standards for rhetorical appraisal / by Lester Thonssen and A. Craig Baird
- Bolan fa zhan bao gao. 2021 = Annual report on development of Poland. 2021 / Huang Chengfeng, Yu Yuanling zhu bian