Rhetoric of Revolt - Ho Chi Minh's Discourse for Revolution

The success of Vietnam's August Revolution of 1945 can be attributed in part to Ho Chi Minh's reconstitutive rhetoric, a form of rhetorical discourse that gave the Vietnamese people a new sense of identification. This reawakened identity in turn influenced a renewed demand for nationalism and independence. This study explores the reconstitutive rhetoric of Ho Chi Minh. In doing so, it advances rhetorical theory founded on nonWestern premises and examines the cultural differences responsible for creating a rhetoric whose focus is nonEurocentric.

Most current thinking on reconstitutive discourse has focused on Western premises. Decaro challenges some of these premises and adds a new dimension to reconstitutive understanding. Ho Chi Minh utilized the cultural heritage of the Vietnamese people as a means of creating his persona-a powerful aspect of his ability to persuade. In understanding Ho Chi Minh's unique form of discourse, it is then possible to see how he was able to unify his country in order to sustain a protracted conflict with the goal of securing national independence.

List of contents

Introduction
Biographical Accounts
Chinese Socio-Cultural Influences
Chun tzu: The Superior (Sage) Man
Ho Chi Minh: The Chun tzu
Conclusions
Appendix A: Selected Writings of Ho Chi Minh
Appendix B: Reliable Sources
Index

About the author

PETER A. DECARO teaches in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus.

Product details

• Authors: Peter Anthony DeCaro, DeCaro Peter A.
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.02.2003
• EAN: 9780275974114
• ISBN: 978-0-275-97411-4
• No. of pages: 152
• Weight: 369 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; China, Vietnam, Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, Nationalism, LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Semantics, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Asian, HISTORY / Asia / Southeast Asia, HISTORY / Asia / China, Political leaders & leadership, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Asian History, Semantics, discourse analysis, stylistics, Political leaders and leadership, Semantics, discourse analysis, etc, World History: Politics and Government