Communicating Change in Chaotic Times: Toward a Maatian Understanding of Civility

Abstract

As a field, and especially for those of us who are religious communication scholars, we have addressed notions of civility. We have used civility to understand our research, pedagogical practices, and dialogue construction. When addressing the uncivil acts on social media and in our political discussions, many scholars have cited the scholarship in “civil communication” as a starting place for inquiry. Many institutions have turned to creating entire programs in “civil communication” or “civil dialogue.” However, much of this grounds itself in a Western understanding of communication and rhetoric. For instance, our understanding of ethics, morality, good judgment, civility, and the like spring from our readings of Aristotle, Plato, and others in the classical Western tradition of our field. Only recently has there been an effort to draw from non-Western, non-European writings and scholarship. I argue that the ethical dilemma for our time is as follows: How do we communicate with people who are not telling the truth? How do we form community with people who are living and perpetuating a lie? What do civility, morality, and justice look like amid incivility, immorality, and injustice? How are harmony, balance, reciprocity, and order maintained amid disharmony, imbalance, and disorder? In this presentation, I suggest that an understanding of the Africana communication paradigm grounded in Maat would be helpful when addressing and discussing conceptions of civil communication. Using the January 6, 2021, insurrection and the continued fallout from the riot at the United States Capitol as a case study, I call for a civility grounded in an ethical and moral presentation and articulation of a Maatian understanding of truth.