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2016
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(2016): ON DECORUM. FROM THE CLASSICS TO POSTMODERNITY. In: QUAESTIO IURIS 9 (3)
Abstract: Considering that the observance of decorum is important to assure good human relationships, especially in the public sphere, and, also, that episodes of breach of decorum are recurrent in Brazilian public life, I propose to recover this classical concept, since its re-evaluation is opportune and urgent. I present therefore a historical revision of the concept of decorum starting from the classics and find that, although this concept has undergone changes, its fundamental aspect, the intimate connection with ethics, has been maintained until the present day. Evidence that this classical concept still survives is the existence, in many countries, of “codes of ethics and decorum” of legislative, judicial and other organs. I find, however, that this concept is sensitive to culture, which is proven in the contrastive analysis of a sample of episodes of the violation of decorum by judges of the American Supreme Court and of the Brazilian Supreme Court. I found that, although violations of Americans are less severe than Brazilians, the reactions of the media and American citizens are much more energetic, because decorum for the Americans is a value that they hold dear, while in Brazil it is a dead letter, lacking be ressurected. I also present some reflections on the arrogance of those who hold power, an attitude to which I attribute the cause of many occurrences of the breach of decorum nowadays.
Keywords: Brasilien, Breach of decorum, decorum, Decorum in der Öffentlichkeit, Ethik, Fehlverhalten, Gericht, Grenzen, Grenzüberschreitung, Judikative, Kommunikation, Kultur, Kulturvergleich, Macht, Medien, Medienwirksamkeit, Öffentliche, diskursive Aushandlung von Anstand, Öffentlicher Diskurs, Rechtswissenschaft, Rhetorik, Richter, Soziale Angemessenheit, Umgangsformen, USA, Werte 2015
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(2015): Developing Democratic Dispositions. Eighteenth-Century Public Debating Societies and the Generative Capacity of Decorum. In: RHETORIC SOCIETY QUARTERLY 45 (4), S. 324-345
Abstract: This essay argues that public debating societies that emerged in Britain in the later eighteenth century functioned as sites of invention where citizens could develop dispositions associated with a more inclusive form of democracy. I locate the generative aspects of these forums in the principle of decorum. I argue that this principle functioned as a means for participants to negotiate traditional codes of conduct and standards of speech that constrained interactions among various constituents of the body politic. To illustrate this claim, I focus on the clash of codes exemplified in an encounter between a Quaker woman and a member of Parliament in a public debating forum. By highlighting these discursive interactions, this essay extends current conversations in public sphere theory that call for a focus on the processes and forms of rhetorical engagement among diverse publics.
2009
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(2009): Politeness and Politics in Cicero's Letters. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press
Abstract: This book presents a fresh examination of the letters exchanged between Cicero and correspondents such as Pompey, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony during the final turbulent decades of the Roman Republic. Drawing upon sociolinguistic theories of politeness, it argues that formal relationships between powerful members of the elite were constrained by distinct conventions of courtesy and etiquette. By examining in detail these linguistic conventions of politeness, the book presents new insights into the social manners that shaped aristocratic relationships. Specific topics include a discussion of the role of letter-writing within the Roman aristocracy; the epistolary use of linguistic politeness to convey respect to fellow members of the elite; the deployment of conventionalized expressions of affection and goodwill to cultivate alliances with ambitious rivals, and the diplomatic exploitation of “polite fictions” at times of political tension. The book also explores the strategies of politeness employed by Cicero and his correspondents when making requests and dispensing advice, and when engaging in epistolary disagreements (Cicero's exchanges with Appius Claudius Pulcher, Munatius Plancus, and Mark Antony receive particular attention).
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