The Rhetorics of Political Graffiti on a Divisive Wall
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Sylvia H. Dahdal
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Adams, Karen L.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
Arizona State University
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2017
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
142
GENERAL NOTES
Text of Note
Committee members: Gelderen, Elly van; Miller, Keith D.
NOTES PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Text of Note
Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-369-76712-4
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Discipline of degree
English
Body granting the degree
Arizona State University
Text preceding or following the note
2017
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
This study contributes to the literature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by offering rhetorical and discourse analysis of political graffiti on a wall built by Israel in Palestine. The analysis attempts to answer the urgent questions of why, who, when, how and for whom these graffiti exist. The data collected for the analysis consists of personal photos of graffiti taken randomly in 2010 and 2013 in Bethlehem, on the Palestinian side of the massive wall. Several theories in rhetoric and discourse analysis were consulted to perform the technical rhetorical and linguistic analyses of the graffiti utterances, images, and messages in selected photos of the graffiti. Social, physical, psychological and political factors that affect communication between the wall graffitists and their readers is discussed to assist in the interpretation of the messages of these graffiti from a Palestinian perspective. The findings of this qualitative study show that graffiti on such a high profile site are not typical of violent gang graffiti as commonly interpreted in the US, but rather contribute a universal interactive rhetorical mode employed by local and international graffitists to show their solidarity and demands for basic human rights for a misrepresented culture. Moreover, the wall graffiti function as evidence that graffiti has evolved into a formal performing art that can be found in respected art galleries. The wall graffiti create a dialogue between uncoordinated actors who come from different orientations to produce an array of positions not usually present in corporate media outlets. The analysis of the wall shows that these graffiti promote deep cultural and historical understanding, as well as break down boundaries and stereotypes. The collective threefold result of the analysis is the following: First, graffiti on the wall have a collective universal motive; second, the graffiti give voice to the voiceless; and third, the graffiti can prompt a sociopolitical change that can lead to a long overdue peaceful resolution to the conflict.
TOPICAL NAME USED AS SUBJECT
Linguistics; Sociolinguistics; Rhetoric; Qualitative research; Graffiti; Political discourse; Language patterns; Art; Question answer sequences; Intertextuality; Discourse analysis; Keywords; Cultural change; Stereotypes; Political factors
UNCONTROLLED SUBJECT TERMS
Subject Term
Language, literature and linguistics;Social sciences;Banksy;Discourse analysis;Divisive wall;Linguistic patterns;Palestine graffiti;Political rhetoric;Street art