A Critical Discourse Analysis of Power, Agency, and Resistance in Malcolm X's The Ballot or the Bullet
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/wjfh.Vol21.Iss1/Pt1.868Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis, power, agency, resistance, rhetoric, civil rightsAbstract
This paper critically analyzes Malcolm X's The Ballot or the Bullet from a CDA perspective to examine how power, agency, and resistance are constructed in the sociopolitical context of America in the 1960s. Guided by Fairclough's analytical framework to CDA, this study explores linguistic features, discursive practices, and social practices to illustrate the way Malcolm X criticizes the system of oppression, furthers Black Nationalism, and places African American struggles within global anti-colonial movements. The findings reveal Malcolm X's mastery in deploying rhetorical strategies to mobilize marginalized communities and to redefine the civil rights movement as part of the larger human rights struggle. Contributions to the variegated strands of CDA and to rhetorical studies are made by this research since the orientations of Malcolm X's discourse are put into use even today in struggles for justice and equality.
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