Martin Luther King and the Rhetoric of Freedom
The Exodus Narrative in America's Struggle for Civil Rights
Published on 30. June 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
225 pages
978-1-60258-016-9 (ISBN)
Description
In this beautifully written book, Gary Selby shows how Martin Luther King, Jr. used the biblical story of Exodus to motivate African Americans in their struggle for freedom from racial oppression. Through an examination of King's major speeches, Selby illuminates the ways in which King drew from the Exodus narrative to offer his listeners a structure that explained their present circumstances, urged united action, and provided the conviction that they would succeed. Selby explains how King constructed a symbolic framework for interpreting the setbacks of the Civil Rights movement, even as he challenged them to remain faithful to the cause.
Reviews / Votes
This book surprises the reader with discoveries that make its theme come alive with a renewed appreciation for how rhetorical subjects are embedded inextricably in the human experience. The writing is simple, clear, engaging, and often even exciting. Gary Selby helps us to grasp the power of rhetoric as a lived, experienced phenomenon. His work draws out King's use of Exodus in a manner that provides unsuspected depth of meaning and understanding. Michael Osborn, University of Memphis, Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication Selby provides an extended rhetorical analysis of how the Exodus narrative informed the Civil Rights Movement, particularly as the narrative was voiced in the rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr... Recommended. -- CHOICEMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Waco
United States
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
376 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-60258-016-9 (9781602580169)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Gary S. Selby
Martin Luther King and the Rhetoric of Freedom
The Exodus Narrative in America's Struggle for Civil Rights
E-Book
08/2008
Baylor University Press
€38.99
Available for download
Person
Gary S. Selby is the Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Communication at Seaver College, Pepperdine University.
Content
Preface
Introduction
1 Rhetoric and Social Movements
2 Let My People Go: The Exodus in African American Cultural History
3 The Red Sea Has Opened: King's ""Death of Evil on the Seashore"" Sermon
4 Broken Aloose from Egypt: The Exodus in King's Montgomery Bus Boycott Rhetoric
5 Reaching Out for Canaan: King's ""Birth of a New Nation"" Sermon
6 I've Been to the Mountaintop: King as the Movement's Moses
7 Keep the Movement Moving: The Birmingham Protest
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
1 Rhetoric and Social Movements
2 Let My People Go: The Exodus in African American Cultural History
3 The Red Sea Has Opened: King's ""Death of Evil on the Seashore"" Sermon
4 Broken Aloose from Egypt: The Exodus in King's Montgomery Bus Boycott Rhetoric
5 Reaching Out for Canaan: King's ""Birth of a New Nation"" Sermon
6 I've Been to the Mountaintop: King as the Movement's Moses
7 Keep the Movement Moving: The Birmingham Protest
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index