INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Infonnation Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 KLÀNNISHNESS AND THE KU KLUX KLAN: THE RHETORIC AND ETHICS OF GENRE THEORY DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Robert McGee, B.S., M.S. ***** The Ohio State University 1996 Dissertation Committee: Approved by J.M. Makau, Co-Adviser S.K. Foss, Adviser Co-Adviser M.M. Garrett Adviser K.O. Locker Department of Communication UMI Number: 9639303 Copyright 1996 by McGee, Brian Robert All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9639303 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Brian R. McGee 1996 ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I describe a rule-centered approach to genre theory inspired by, if not always faithful to, the work of Jean-Fran^ois Lyotard. This theory distinguishes between idioms. which are composed of the rules governing and governed by specific rhetorical artifacts, and genres. which are collections of idioms sharing a common rule or rules. The sharing of rules by multiple idioms— a sharing that makes identification of genres possible— I call rhetorical imbrication. In demonstrating the practical merit of this revised theory of genre, I examine several rhetorical artifacts pertinent to the rise and rhetorical maintenance of the twentieth- century Ku Klux Klan, from Thomas Dixon, Jr.'s 1905 novel. The Clansman. to David Duke's 1991 gubernatorial campaign materials, with specific emphasis given to the "second” Ku Klux Klan movement of 1915-1930. While the results of this study demonstrate the advantages of a reconstructed genre theory, my investigation also has an ethical and political aim, which is to develop better tools for the 11 discernment and critique of unwarranted ethnic, racial, and religious intolerance. I work through genre theory as propaedeutic to considering how one should respond to such intolerance when confronted by it. Specifically, this revised genre theory provides guidance concerning the identification and critique of "Klannishness" in contemporary rhetoric, where Klannishness is understood as allegiance to enduring Klan principles (e.g., white racial supremacy, nativism) without explicit ties to the Klan or similar organizations. The dissertation is organized in seven chapters. Chapter One explains the benefits and limitations of current genre theory, outlines a revised approach to genre, and addresses questions of purpose and method in rhetorical criticism. Chapters Two through Six provide individual case studies of rhetorical artifacts attributed to Thomas Dixon, Jr., two pro-Klan Louisiana Protestant ministers, Klan opponent W. E. B. Du Bois, 1920s Klan leader Hiram Wesley Evans, and David Duke. Chapter Seven summarizes the merits of the revised genre theory, isolates six generic principles common to Klan discourse, and shows the Klannishness of some contemporary political rhetorics that are faithful to these generic Klan principles (e.g., Pat Buchanan's 1996 presidential primary campaign discourse). Ill Dedicated to my family IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The doctoral dissertation is a genre with well- understood rules governing decorum and appropriateness, which the doctoral candidate is rightly hesitant to violate. Unlike many other genres, which rely on an inchoate sense of those rules embedded in a communal history, the Graduate School has codified many of the rules to which I am asked to conform. Among them is the suggestion that I acknowledge the "assistance and courtesy" of the individuals who helped me to complete this document. I follow this prescription with pleasure. Contemporary authorship conventions frequently do not allow the final products of research to reflect the many sources of influence on such research. At Ohio State, I have been privileged to be a member of a talented community of scholars. My interaction with graduate students and faculty has improved this dissertation in many ways. For these contributions, I thank my colleagues and friends. For their help in finding source material, I particularly appreciate the assistance of Elizabeth Daley (of Gustavus Adolphus College), Darrin Hicks (of the University of Denver), Janet Horne (of Salisbury State University), Sharon Bracci, James Hikins, and Debian Marty. I am grateful to my committee members, Sonja K. Foss, Mary M. Garrett, and Kitty O. Locker, for their help and advice, both in and out of the classroom. In particular, I wish Professor Foss well as she leaves Ohio State. A former OSU faculty member, James Darsey, deserves special credit, for he tolerated my fumbling initial attempts to address this research topic in several graduate seminars. I especially appreciate the support and assistance of my adviser, Josina M. Makau, who generously continued to serve in that capacity after taking a position at another university. In my judgment, this dissertation is located at the intersection of argumentation theory and communication ethics, two areas of profound interest to me and to Professor Makau. The 1990s have not been kind to the study of rhetoric in communication departments, and I fear for the future of the rhetoric concentration at OSU. My department already has formally abandoned a 70-year history of public address studies at The Ohio State University, and the place of rhetoric in a redesigned unit for communication studies is less than certain. Whatever its flaws, I wish to pay tribute to the rhetoric and public address tradition at VI Ohio State, which was founded on the pioneering efforts of scholars like Earl Wiley, John Black, Walter B. Emery, and H. F. Harding. Finally, I have dedicated this dissertation to my family. My parents, James and Carolyn McGee, and my grandparents, William McGee, Mary McGee, and Anne Houlihan, have encouraged and sustained this project in ways that they probably do not realize. My greatest debt is to my colleague and spouse, Deborah Socha McGee, without whom none of my efforts would seem worthwhile. Copyright laws require me to provide the following information, since I have been given permission to quote lengthy passages from these sources; Linda Alcoff, "The Problem of Speaking for Others," Cultural Critique 20 (1991-92): 5-32. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. Gender/Bodv/Knowledge. Alison M. Jaggar and Susan R. Bordo, eds., copyright ^ 1989 by Rutgers, The State University. Reprinted by permission of Rutgers University Press. Nancy MacLean, Behind the Mask of Chivalry: The Making of the Second Ku Klux Klan (New York: Oxford UP, 1994). Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. VI1 VITA August 15, 1967 .......... Born - Anderson, Indiana 1989... .................... B.S. Speech Communication, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 1990... .................... M.S. Speech Communication, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale 1990 - 1992 ...............Instructor of Speech Communication and Theatre, Northeast Louisiana University 1992 - 1993 ...............University Fellow, The Ohio State University 1993 - present .......... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS McGee, B. R., & Simerly, G. (1994). Intuition, common sense, and judgment. CEDA Yearbook. 15, 86-97. Hart, J. P., & McGee, B. R. (1992). Propositions of fact. In D. A. Thomas & J. P. Hart (Eds.), Advanced debate : Readings in theory. practice & teaching (4th ed.). pp. 391-400. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook. McGee, B. R., & Simerly, G. (1991). In defense of unregulated forensics transfers: A response to Bartanen. The Forensic of Pi Kappa Delta. 76(3), 6-11. Simerly, G., & McGee, B. R. (1991). A conceptual schema for assessing the educational function of a forensics program. Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri Journal. 21. 5-14. Vlll McGee, B. R. (1988). Assessing counter-warrants: Understanding induction in debate practice. CEDA Yearbook. 9, 63-70. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Communication IX TABLE OF CONTENTS Page D e d