Language and Power on the Rhetorical Stage

<p>Through a fusion of narrative and analysis <i>Language and Power on the Rhetorical Stage </i>examines how theater can enact critical discourse analysis and how micro-instances of iniquitous language use have been politically and historically reiterated to oppress and deny equal rights to marginalized groups of people.</p><p>Drawing from Aristophanes’ rhetorical plays as a template for rhetoric in action the author poses the stage as a rhetorical site whereby we can observe see and feel 20th-century rhetorical theories of the body. Using critical discourse analysis and Judith Butler’s theories of the performative body as a methodological and analytical lens the book explores how a handful of American plays in the latter part of the 20th century—the works of Tony Kushner Suzan Lori-Parks and John Cameron Mitchell among others— use rhetoric in order to perform and challenge marginalizing language about groups that are not offered center stage in public and political spheres.</p><p>This innovative study initiates a conversation long overdue between scholars in rhetorical and performance studies; as such it will be essential reading for academic researchers and graduate students in the areas of rhetorical studies performance studies theater studies and critical discourse analysis.</p>