Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The rhetoric of the Dalai Lama

Público Deposited

Contenido Descargable

Descargar PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/1831cp932

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • This thesis examines the rhetoric (persuasive discourse) of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. The analysis of this thesis provides an historical foundation of understanding for the international campaign of rhetoric which the Dalai Lama has been leading for the past forty years, culminating with his Nobel Peace Prize award in 1989. The thesis provides an overview of the Dalai Lama's persuasive tactics spanning his time spent campaigning in exile, from 1959 to the present time (1995). The Dalai Lama has been a strong leader in the movement to raise support and international awareness for Tibetans in Chinese controlled Tibet. Specifically, this thesis presents an analysis of two of the Dalai Lama's most well known speeches: the Five Point Peace Plan, presented to members of the United States Congress on September 27, 1987, and the Strasbourg Proposal, presented to members of the European Parliament on June 15, 1988. The Dalai Lama's discourse is examined from the perspective of rhetorical criticism, using the theories of Kenneth Burke as the framework for understanding the texts. This analysis incorporates Burke's theories on mortification, scapegoating, victimage, and transcendence, as well as the tragic and comic frames for presenting a vision of dramatic conflict. The Dalai Lama's rhetoric is also analyzed for its cross cultural implications according to Geert Hofstede's dimensions of cultural variability. This thesis includes a discussion of the Dalai Lama's role as a social movement leader with a charismatic persona and a strong ability to organize and manage a diverse international following while working to preserve the Tibetan diaspora in exile. Lastly, the ethical groundings of the Dalai Lama's rhetoric are taken into consideration. The purpose of this thesis is to introduce to communication students the significance of the Dalai Lama's body of work, and to indicate potential directions for future research. The rationale behind the thesis is this: in rhetorical theory and social movement theory, there exist numerous studies of the nonviolent rhetoric and social movement leadership of both Dr. Martin Luther King of the United States and Mahatma Gandhi of India; yet the Dalai Lama, whose work I show to be comparable in many ways to that of King and Gandhi, has remained unexamined by scholars in many disciplines, most notably rhetorical criticism and social movement theory. The intent of this thesis is to focus upon the Dalai Lama's rhetoric and communication skills in order to stimulate an enduring interest in him as a remarkable orator and leader, from whom we may gain insight into improving our ability to communicate and to manage conflict in a nonviolent manner.
License
Resource Type
Fecha Disponible
Fecha de Emisión
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Non-Academic Affiliation
Subject
Declaración de derechos
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
Digitization Specifications
  • File scanned at 300 ppi (Monochrome) using Capture Perfect 3.0.82 on a Canon DR-9080C in PDF format. CVista PdfCompressor 4.0 was used for pdf compression and textual OCR.
Replaces

Relaciones

Parents:

This work has no parents.

En Collection:

Elementos

Miniatura Título Fecha de subida Visibilidad Acciones
file details GorsevskiEllenWeihe1996.pdf 2017-10-19 Público Descargar