A Rhetorical Analysis of Helen Zille
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THESIS SHOUT AMANDLA! A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF HELEN ZILLE Submitted by Emily Susan Sauter Department of Communication Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2011 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Karrin Vasby Anderson Carl Burgchardt Sandra Davis ABSTRACT SHOUT AMANDLA! A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF HELEN ZILLE As women have attained more prominent political positions, the study of gender, communication, and electoral politics has expanded over the last few decades. Public address scholarship in particular has covered speeches by many women, from Angelina Grimke to Hillary Clinton, from Sojourner Truth to Eleanor Roosevelt. However, as scholars in Communication Studies have begun concerning themselves with the rhetoric of political women, much of that attention has been focused on U.S. American women. This thesis expands that conversation by exploring the rhetoric of a woman politician acting outside the U.S. American context. This project examines the complex and varied rhetorical strategies employed by Helen Zille. The goal of this work is threefold: First, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how women in developing nations impact and shape the political landscape through their rhetorical effort by examining the situation of a specific figure. I believe this case study offers important insight into the rhetoric of women leaders acting in the context of a developing, post-colonial nation. Second, this work examines how constitutive rhetoric functions in South Africa’s complex political landscape. Third, this project responds to the need for more scholarship that examines ii rhetoric in non-U.S. contexts. More broadly, this project addresses the question of how Zille’s rhetoric functions to overcome barriers of race, class, and gender as she works towards the 2014 presidential elections. This study will be guided by two major theories, Eugene White’s theory of exigential flow and Maurice Charland’s theory of constitutive rhetoric. In addition, in order to truly understand how Zille’s rhetoric functions, I will explore the unique post-colonial mindset of South Africa that is a defining feature of Zille’s rhetorical situation. iii AKNOWLEDGMENTS Although the words on this page cannot adequately reflect the extreme amount of gratitude that I have for the people acknowledged in this section, I will nonetheless attempt to articulate the deep appreciation I share for the many people committed to my academic, professional, and personal success. This project would not have been possible without the positive encouragement that I received from my advisors, family, and friends. First and foremost I want to say thank you to my parents, Dr. Kevin and Susan Sauter. Dad, thank you so much for being my sounding board, my editor, and my academic spirit guide. Thank you for editing my papers in the early morning hours, for fielding frantic skype calls in the middle of the day when I hit a wall, for patiently listening to me moan about the hopelessness that is graduate school at the end of the semester, and supplying me with 30+ years of wisdom and classroom exercises—you truly are my secret weapon! Mom, you have been my rock and my sanity. Thank you for being my counselor, my cheerleader, and my therapist. Thank you for always knowing when I needed a pep talk and when I needed a swift verbal kick in the butt. Your boundless faith in my abilities and never-ending support and love are the reason I know that no matter what I do in my future, I will succeed because you believe in me. To my brothers, Brendan and Sean, thank you for always taking my phone calls, even if you had no idea what I was talking about! I know I always wanted a sister, but I think God did me a favor by giving me two brothers! Undeniably, without my amazing committee, this thesis would have been an entirely different project. To Dr. Kari Anderson, thank you for taking me on and sharing your wisdom and insight. You showed me that I can be a friend, teacher, advisor, and iv mother, as well as a world-class scholar. To my outside member, Dr. Burgchardt, thank you for your opposition! And I mean that in all seriousness—we may approach some topics from opposite ends of the theoretical and ideological spectrum but I have only the deepest respect for you. You pushed me to think more deeply and write more clearly, to approach an issue from all angles, and to truthfully consider the flaws of any theory. And to my outside member Dr. Sandra Davis, thank you for your insightful comments and thoughtful questions. Having you on my committee was an honor. Not only am I better writer after this process, but a better thinker and academic thanks to you all. I also owe great gratitude to the people who made Colorado State University a reality for me. Heartfelt thanks go to my undergraduate faculty at the University of St. Thomas who wrote me amazing letters and always supported my dreams of the academy, especially Dr. John Cragan, Dr. Debra Peterson, Dr. Angela High-Pippert, and Dr. Carol Bruess. Throughout this process my colleagues have been my adopted family and your friendship made Colorado State University my home-away-from-home. To Ashton Mounton, how do I even start? You are my academic soulmate and life-partner. Thank you for the last minute edits, the many (many) late nights at the office, the early morning rides and McDonalds runs, always listening to my long-winded feminist rants, and helping me take much needed breaks. I always appreciated our conversations, from the theoretical to the ridiculous, and I don’t know how I’m going to survive PhD without you! To Emily Moreland and Tiffany Reifschneider-Smith, thanks for your support, laughter, general craziness, and Thursday night margs at Zquilas. Eddy 207 is an office that will go down in infamy ladies! Aaron Keel, my advisee buddy, I will miss our thesis chats. You may not know it, but you helped me through many a roadblock! I’m sad v you’re leaving the academy, but I know you will do great things in the world! To Alex Coughlin, Kyle Jonas, Jeremy Grossman, Abby Zwier, Jess Solverud, Lydia Reinig, and Alita St. Clair, a special thank you for making each day a little easier and I can’t wait to see where the future takes you! Finally, I would like to say thank you to my Minnesota friends. Kat Campbell, thank you for always making time for me, and listening to me debate the finer points of theory—even if you had no idea what I was talking about! You are my BFTD and even though we’re far apart, I know I can count on your for a supportive ear and sage wisdom. To Janet Olawsky, Sami Tierney and Suzy Piper, thanks for making my undergraduate years a blast! Without your friendship, I might never have gone on to graduate school! And to everyone who was not named, rest assured that if we know each other, you had a place in my writing because you were always in my heart. Cheers, Emily Sauter, M.A. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................................... 6 Configurational Rhetoric and Exigential Flow .......................................................................... 6 Constitutive Rhetoric ............................................................................................................. 12 Colonialism and Apartheid in South Africa ............................................................................ 17 Post-Colonialism .................................................................................................................... 21 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................... 26 OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS .......................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 2: BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................... 37 ZILLE’S BIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................... 38 COLONIZATION AND APARTHEID: A BRIEF HISTORY .................................................................. 41 WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICAN POLITICS ...................................................................................... 44 THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE, THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGREE, AND DIFFERING VISIONS OF SOUTH AFRICAN IDENTITY ......................................................................................................... 52 CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT .................................................................................................. 60 CHAPTER 3: THE POWER OF SPEECH ............................................................................................ 71 ZILLE’S 2009 ACCEPTANCE SPEECH ............................................................................................ 73 FREEDOM DAY SPEECH 2010 ..................................................................................................... 89 CHAPTER 4: CONSTITUTING AUDIENCES: BLACK VERSUS WHITE .............................................. 105 FACEBOOK AND THE WHITE AUDIENCE ................................................................................... 108 RADIO AND THE BLACK AUDIENCE .........................................................................................