A rhetorical analysis of african unification oratory
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Date
2009
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Publisher
National University of Lesotho
Abstract
This study investigates how leaders aligned with the Monrovia and Casablanca
blocs attempted, between the years 1957 and 1963, to secure adherence to their views on
how to achieve African unity. It analyzes the published speeches that Kwame Nkrumah,
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Julius Nyerere delivered at the Conference of African
Heads of States and Governments held in Ethiopia in May 1963 and the published speech
that Robert Sobukwe delivered at the Basutoland African Congress Conference held in
Basutoland in December 1957.
The study utilizes elements of selected classical and modern rhetorical theories
to examine the speeches. It examines the context of these speeches, the appeals in each
speech, the organization of each speech and the style of each speech. It also compares
and contrasts the appeals, organization and style in these speeches.
The study finds that these speeches rely on logical, pathetic and ethical proof for
persuasiveness as well as on style and organization. The study also finds that these
speeches are inspired by earlier Pan-Africanist literature as well as by English Literature.
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Keywords
Canon, Rhetor, Discourse, African Literature, Reasoning