Beyond Civility by William Keith

Beyond Civility by William Keith

Examines the problem of social change in a modern, mediated democracy. Argues that civility is not simply a virtue but a functional set of tools that must be adapted to specific situations.

“In a much needed and thought-provoking study, William Keith and Robert Danisch examine the concepts of civility and incivility, offering both critique and justification for civility as a norm of political discourseThey reconceive civility as a kind of discourse that can help us solve political problems in a way that is more equal, less conditioned by economic, political, or social power, and more respectful of mutual humanity. This study offers a timely assessment of our broken public sphere.”

—Jennifer Mercieca, coeditor of The Rhetoric of Heroic Expectations: Establishing the Obama Presidency

“One consequence of the current challenges to democracy is reconsideration of democratic institutions, norms, and habits. Beyond Civility is a model for how that can be done. While engaging strong critiques of the concept, Keith and Danisch demonstrate why [civility] remains an important commitment for both political sustainability and progressive change. By focusing on its paradoxical character, they show how civility and incivility negotiate deep problems of relationality. This is a thoughtful study of public communication for this turbulent time.”

—Robert Hariman, author of Political Style: The Artistry of Power

“William Keith and Robert Danisch offer a provocative and interesting take on democracy as a ‘wicked problem.’”

—Mary E. Stuckey, author of Voting Deliberatively: FDR and the 1936 Presidential Campaign

“Beyond Civility is a defense of civility and an argument for its centrality to democratic culture. It engages in topics that will be of great interest to rhetorical scholars. The authors’ breakdown of civility into weak/strong/pseudo and the argument stances in the ‘theater’ of public discourse are novel and important.”

—Jeremy Engels, author of The Politics of Resentment: A Genealogy

“Challenging the regular hand-wringing over a decline of civility in public discourse, William Keith and Robert Danisch take political divisiveness as a given in Beyond Civility: The Competing Obligations of Citizenship.”

—Scott McLemee Inside Higher Ed

William Keith is Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He is the author of the award-winning Democracy as Discussion: Civic Education and the American Forum Movement and coauthor of two highly regarded textbooks, The Essential Guide to Rhetoric and Public Speaking: Choices and Responsibility.

Robert Danisch is Associate Professor of Communication Arts at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of two monographs and a popular book on communication practices and the host of the communication skills podcast “Now We’re Talking.”

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780271088044
ISBN 10	0271088044
Title	Beyond Civility
Author	William Keith
Series	Rhetoric And Democratic Deliberation
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Pennsylvania State University Press
Year published	2020-07-06
Number of pages	200
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.