The Rhetoric of Southern Identity
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&M University THE RHETORIC OF SOUTHERN IDENTITY: DEBATING THE SHIFT FROM DIVISION TO IDENTIFICATION IN THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY SOUTH A Dissertation by REBECCA BRIDGES WATTS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2003 Major Subject: Speech Communication THE RHETORIC OF SOUTHERN IDENTITY: DEBATING THE SHIFT FROM DIVISION TO IDENTIFICATION IN THE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY SOUTH A Dissertation by REBECCA BRIDGES WATTS Submitted to Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________ ___________________________ James A. Aune Charles R. Conrad (Chair of Committee) (Member) ___________________________ ___________________________ Leroy G. Dorsey C. Jan Swearingen (Member) (Member) ___________________________ Richard L. Street (Head of Department) December 2003 Major Subject: Speech Communication iii ABSTRACT The Rhetoric of Southern Identity: Debating the Shift from Division to Identification in the Turn-of-the-Century South. (December 2003) Rebecca Bridges Watts, B.A., Stetson University; M.A., Clemson University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. James Arnt Aune Recent debates as to the place of Old South symbols and institutions in the South of the new millennium are evidence of a changing order in the South. I examine -- from a rhetorical perspective informed by Kenneth Burke’s theory of identification and division -- four debates that have taken place in the South and/or about the South over roughly the past decade, 1995 to the present. In this decade, Southerners and interested others have debated such issues as 1) admitting women to the Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel; 2) integrating displays of public art in Richmond to feature Confederates and African Americans side by side; 3) continuing to fly the Confederate battle flag in public spaces such as the South Carolina Capitol or including it in the designs of state flags such as those of Georgia and Mississippi; and 4) allowing Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, who seemed to speak out in support of the South's segregated past, to continue in his position of Senate leadership. Looking at each of these debates, it is clear that at issue in each is whether the ruling order of the South should continue to be one of division or whether that order should be supplanted by identification. Judging from the outcomes of the four debates analyzed here, the order of division seems to be iv waning just as the order of identification seems to be waxing in influence over the turn- of-the-millennium South. But a changing South is no less a distinctive, continuing South. I argue that a distinctive Southern culture based on a sense of order has existed and continues to exist amidst the larger American culture. If some form of "Southernism" is to continue as a distinctive mindset and way of life in the twenty-first century, Southerners will need to learn to strike a balance between their past, with its ruling order of division, and the present, with its ruling order of identification. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to acknowledge the opportunity afforded me by the Department of Communication at Texas A&M University to further my education in rhetoric. Thanks especially to Jim Aune, who took an interest in this project from the very beginning and has offered helpful insights, feedback, and support along the way. In addition, I would like to thank Marty Medhurst for his feedback on earlier versions of the Confederate flag chapter. Vanessa Beasley deserves thanks for serving as my advisor for two years before moving on to SMU. Thanks also go to my other rhetoric professors in the department, Kurt Ritter and Leroy Dorsey, and to the latter for being willing to join my committee late in the process. Another person to whom I would like to extend my appreciation is Charley Conrad, who not only served on my committee, but also has been a great professor to work for while researching and writing this dissertation. Finally, I would also like to thank my fellow rhetoric graduate students in the department, especially Nick, Rachel, Bill, Buddy, David, and Kristina, for being such affable and astute colleagues. Being in class with you all helped me to become a better student of rhetoric. Second, I would also like to acknowledge the opportunity afforded me by the Department of English at Clemson University to begin my graduate education. Especially deserving of thanks there are my first rhetoric professors, Martin Jacobi and Beth Daniell. I also benefited greatly from the friendship of Julia and Laura, friends from outside the English department; the latter inspired me to go to graduate school in vi the first place by her example and successfully recruited me to attend Clemson. Third, I would like to acknowledge the many supportive friends I made while a student at Stetson University -- a number of whom are still supportive friends to this day: Karen, Penny, and Melody in particular. In addition, Lisa and Randy have not only been good friends, but along with Laura they inspired me to follow in their footsteps and attend graduate school. Further, I am greatly appreciative of the many talented yet humble professors I had the opportunity to learn from at Stetson, especially my Honors Program professors and my English professors John Pearson and Terri Witek. Even though I am no longer studying Henry James and American long poems, your example as teachers and your love of language continue to inspire me. And, of course, I am greatly appreciative of my parents for paying for me to attend a liberal arts school so that I could have the best undergraduate education possible, and for their continuing moral support. Finally, I would especially like to acknowledge the love, patience, support, and encouragement of my husband, Tyler, who moved to a place he would rather not have and continued in a very difficult job so that I could have the opportunity to pursue this degree. I especially appreciate his reminder to me, after my first semester at A&M, that I had said I might consider switching departments if I liked the communication program better once I got to A&M; that nudge sparked me to pursue seriously the possibility of transferring to the speech communication program in the first place. Debbie has been a supportive friend from the very first weeks we both began our studies at A&M. Althea and Clancy have helped me to remain very happy through their own brand of vii encouragement. More recently, Olivia has been a special blessing and encouragement. Most of all, I thank God for all of the above and much, much more -- more than my mere words can ever express. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………….. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………... v TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………. viii I INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1 A Distinctive South…………………………………………… 3 There Is Nothing New under the Sun: Division in the South…… 8 Burke on Order: Identification and Division…………………... 13 The Issue of Order in Recent Debates over Southern Identity…. 16 A New Rhetoric of Southern Identity…………………………. 21 Notes…………………………………………………………… 23 II PUTTING ON UNIFORMS, TEARING DOWN WALLS, AND OPENING DOORS: SOCIAL MYSTERY IN THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE GENDER INTEGRATION DEBATE……. 27 VMI’s History of Social Mystery………………………………... 30 Overview of Arguments for Maintaining or Dismantling VMI’s System of Social Mystery……………………………….. 34 Burke on Social Mystery and Class Distinction…………………. 37 Anatomy and Clothes Make the Institute Man: Gendered Social Mystery………………………………………………… 40 Of Brother Rats and Panopticon Barracks: Martial Social Mystery………………………………………………… 47 New Market Cadets and Good Ol’ Boys: Southern Social Mystery………………………………………………… 51 Brother Rats All? Conclusions about Women and Men at VMI.. 58 Notes………………………………………………………….. 60 III WHEN RICHMOND GAINED PERSPECTIVE BY INCONGRUITY: JUXTAPOSING SYMBOLS OF OLD SOUTH TRADITION AND NEW SOUTH CHANGE IN THE CONFEDERATE CAPITAL…….. 66 Perspective by Incongruity……………………………………… 69 Incongruous Perspectives of Richmond’s Race Relations……….. 76 Debate I: Did a Statue of Arthur Ashe Belong on Monument ix Avenue?………………………………………………….. 78 Debate II: Did a Mural of Robert E. Lee Belong in the Canal Walk Historical Display?……………………………….… 105 Conclusion: Finding Congruity through Incongruity, Identification through Division………………………….. 122 Notes……………………………………………………………. 126 IV HERITAGE VS. HATE: THE NARRATIVES OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG CONTROVERSY IN SOUTH CAROLINA…………………… 140 Theoretical Foundations: Barthes, McGee, Burke, and Fisher….. 148 A History of Heritage vs. Hate…………………………………. 155 Battling over the Battle Flag: Narratives of the War, the Flag, and the Debate Itself…………………………………… 159 Flag Advocates’ Narratives of Heritage…………………………. 160 Flag Opponents’ Narratives of Hate……………………………. 171 Middlegrounders’ Narratives of Compromise…………………... 177 After the Battle: Can Identification Result from Divergent Narratives?……………………………………………… 183 Notes…………………………………………………………… 185 V SENATOR TRENT LOTT: SOUTHERN SINNER, SCAPEGOAT, AND SACRIFICE……………………………………………………… 190 The Beginning of the End: The Context of Lott’s Controversial Comments………………………………………………. 191 The Rhetorical Situation: A Timeline of Accusations and Apologia………………………………………………… 193