SPEAKING OF WHO "WE" ARE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS' PASTORAL LETTER "THE CHALLENGE OF PEACE" AS A CASE STUDY IN IDENTITY, ORGANIZATION, AND RHETORIC (COMMUNICATION, RELIGION, THEORY, LANGUAGE, UNITED STATES)

GEORGE EDWARD CHENEY, Purdue University

Abstract

The interrelated purposes of this study were three: (1) With a stress on organizational study, to analyze how individual members and the organization balance multiple, competing, and often contradictory interests associated with both constituent and "outside" groups; (2) With a stress on rhetorical study, to understand how a large organization positions itself symbolically in relation to its various "publics" or "audiences" during a time of great socio-political change; and (3) With a stress on the study of social identity, to interpret the ways members and organizations become publicly "identified" within a pluralistic context, identity being treated here as how an individual or group is represented. To achieve these aims, the study sought first to elaborate a theory of identity, organization, and rhetoric, building on the writings of Kenneth Burke. Importantly, Burke's language-centered approach allowed for a clear articulation of the necessary connection between individual and collective identity. The methodological assumptions and the method also were informed by Burkean theory. Specifically, the study adopted a "Dramatistic" ontology, viewing humans as acting; and a "Logological" epistemology, treating words as facts. Moreover, three themes were extracted from Burke's writings and used to guide the analysis: (1) using multiple perspectives, (2) treating ambiguity as a resource, and (3) identifying words as facts. Data were obtained through archival research and through approximately 30 interview and written contacts. The analysis and interpretations focused on the development of the U.S. Catholic bishops' 1983 pastoral letter on war and peace. The theoretical framework and the methodological themes infused the analysis of case discourse within the context of eight hierarchically arranged research questions that were constructed around symbolic associations: between Church and world, between U.S. and world, between Church and U.S., between bishops' conference and universal Church, between individual Catholic and Church, between peace-related issues, between various interests and groups, and within the text of The Challenge of Peace itself. The analysis supported the theory's soundness and illuminated complex symbolic interrelationships in the development of the historic statement by the bishops. The study concluded with implications for the theory, for U.S. Catholicism, and for future research.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Communication

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