Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Rhetoric Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Lynnell Thomas

2007

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Rhetoric

Kissing Ass And Other Performative Acts Of Resistance: Austin, Fanon, And New Orleans Tourism, Lynnell L. Thomas Aug 2007

Kissing Ass And Other Performative Acts Of Resistance: Austin, Fanon, And New Orleans Tourism, Lynnell L. Thomas

Lynnell Thomas

“Kissing Ass and other Performative Acts of Resistance: Austin, Fanon, and New Orleans Tourism” examines Frantz Fanon’s “Algeria Unveiled” as a reconceptualization of J. L. Austin’s theory of the performative. Austin, whose examples of the performative all assume an equal, if not harmonious, relationship, overlooks instances of incompatibility and inequality. Fanon’s post-colonial framework, on the other hand, illustrates the markedly different types of intentions, uptake, and conventions which inform the speech act in cases of extreme inequality. In these cases, the powerless and seemingly voiceless use tacitly agreed upon conventions “inappropriately” to attain what they would not be able to …