Town Meeting as a Communication Event: Democracy's Act Sequence

Abstract

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Dismantling the antiracist “hate speech” agenda in Hungary: an ethno-rhetorical analysis

“…The rhetorical function of semantic strategies and the moves that constitute them is to occasion the effective expression of themes by virtue of creating relationships among propositions that anchor those propositions in an underlying normative or belief system (Van Dijk 1984). Following analyses of rhetorical language use done in the ethnography of communication and cultural discourse-analytic tradition (Carbaugh 2005;Carbaugh and Wolf Brought to you by | Purdue University Libraries Authenticated Download Date | 5/27/15 3:20 AM 1999; Coutu 2000Coutu , 2008Griefat and Katriel 1989;Philipsen 1992Philipsen , 2000Townsend 2009), I read across discursive texts to identify and link together key symbolic terms. These terms anchor anti-antiracist speakers' argumentative talk in basic cultural beliefs (premises) about communally intelligible and appropriate models of who persons are (personhood) and how they should relate to one another in society (sociation) (Carbaugh 2007).…”

Committees and Controversy

“…Unfulfilled expectations for democratic decisionmaking processes was a theme across these studies. Either decisions were evaded and made impossible because of logistics, lack of information, and misuses of time (Wood, 1989); or decisions were made, but without the democratic ideals of equal participation (Townsend, 2009). For example, Marsh (2012) examined the "micropolitics" of teacher compensation committees under the New York City Schoolwide Performance Bonus program.…”

Sustainability ‘wars’ in a New England town

“…That year, the town transitioned to the representative form that persists to this day. Rebecca Townsend's research into communication structures of Town Meeting described it as ''a democracy that is elaborate and orderly'' ( [3]:76). In 2009, the Amherst Town Meeting (ATM) drew members from 10 precincts and included a number of ex-officio members who represented various offices and committees of the town government.…”