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Spiritual-but-Not-Religious Discourses in Public Rhetoric and in Composition

Wagar, Scott
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1399563558

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, English.
Spirituality has become widely recognized as a concept distinct, if not always divorced, from religion, and the term has taken on positive and ethical connotations even as its meaning and value continue to be debated. From the disciplinary framework of composition and rhetoric studies, this dissertation explores rhetorical and pedagogical implications of spirituality in its contemporary sense. Although spirituality has been of continuing interest within composition and rhetoric, relatively little work has placed the concept in its contemporary societal and rhetorical context. My project helps to fill this gap in the discipline's knowledge by: examining multiple sites of public rhetoric on spirituality, including online opinion articles and blogs, spiritual "self-help" texts, and a Facebook group for spiritual-but-not-religious (SBNR) persons; discussing the use of a spiritual-autobiography assignment in an undergraduate composition course; and demonstrating parallels between the discipline of composition and rhetoric and certain prominent articulations of spirituality. I employ rhetorical analysis as well as person-based research drawing on interviews with Facebook users and with composition students. My findings in the first section of the project include the existence of a "definitional wrangle," in which public rhetors use the unfixed status of "spirituality" to advance particular positions on the concept's desirability or lack thereof. Further, I observe that some rhetors perceive connections between their spiritual and/or religious beliefs and their communicative ideals, and I suggest that such connections may offer rhetorical resources in the search for more civil and dialogic public discourse. In the latter part of the project, I assert that contemporary discourses of spirituality appear to be influencing composition students who write about experiences of deep meaning and/or religion. Finally, I argue that the concept of spirituality can serve composition and rhetoric studies by providing the discipline with a framework for understanding itself, insofar as many of the core values and practices of the field, such as its _ethos_ of radical inclusivity, could be deemed "spiritual." Ultimately, I suggest potential benefits as well as challenges and limitations of calling upon spirituality as a public communicative resource and as a framework for disciplinary understanding within composition and rhetoric.
Kate Ronald, PhD (Advisor)
Jason Palmeri, PhD (Committee Member)
LuMing Mao, PhD (Committee Member)
Liz Wilson, PhD (Committee Member)
204 p.
Communication; Composition; Religion; Rhetoric; Spirituality
composition and rhetoric; writing; spiritual but not religious; public rhetoric; civil discourse; SBNR; Facebook; Thich Nhat Hanh

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wagar, S. (2014). Spiritual-but-Not-Religious Discourses in Public Rhetoric and in Composition [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1399563558

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wagar, Scott. Spiritual-but-Not-Religious Discourses in Public Rhetoric and in Composition . 2014. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1399563558.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wagar, Scott. "Spiritual-but-Not-Religious Discourses in Public Rhetoric and in Composition ." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1399563558

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1399563558
596
© 2014, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.