1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910213819603321

Autore

Darsey James

Titolo

The prophetic tradition and radical rhetoric in America / / James Darsey

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, NY : , : New York University Press, , [1997]

©1997

ISBN

0-8147-2098-6

0-585-23980-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (294 p.)

Disciplina

322.10973

Soggetti

Social problems - United States

Prophecy - Social aspects - United States

Radicalism - United States

Rhetoric - Social aspects - United States

English language - United States - Rhetoric

Political oratory - Social aspects - United States

United States Social conditions 1980-2020

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-267) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. Radical Rhetoric and American Community -- 2. Old Testament Prophecy as Radical Ursprach -- 3. Prophecy as Sacred Truth -- 4. Prophecy as Krisis -- 5. The Prophet's Call and His Burden -- 6. The Word in Darkness -- 7. A Vision of the Apocalypse -- 8. Prophecy as Poetry -- 9. Secular Argument and the Language of Commodity -- 10. The Seraph and the Snake -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

This expansive volume traces the rhetoric of reform across American history, examining such pivotal periods as the American Revolution, slavery, McCarthyism, and today's gay liberation movement. At a time when social movements led by religious leaders, from Louis Farrakhan to Pat Buchanan, are playing a central role in American politics, James Darsey connects this radical tradition with its prophetic roots. Public discourse in the West is derived from the Greek principles of civility, diplomacy, compromise, and negotiation. On this model, radical speech



is often taken to be a symptom of social disorder. Not so, contends Darsey, who argues that the rhetoric of reform in America represents the continuation of a tradition separate from the commonly accepted principles of the Greeks. Though the links have gone unrecognized, the American radical tradition stems not from Aristotle, he maintains, but from the prophets of the Hebrew Bible.