Dialogic Confession

In this landmark volume of contemporary communication theory, Ronald C. Arnett applies the metaphor of dialogic confession—which enables historical moments to be addressed from a confessed standpoint and through a communicative lens—to the works of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who pointed to an era of postmodern difference with his notion of "a world come of age." Arnett’s interpretations of Bonhoeffer’s life and scholarship in contention with Nazi dominance offer implications for a dialogic confession that engages the complexity of postmodern narrative contention.

Rooted in classical theory, the field of communication ethics is abstract and arguably outmoded. In Dialogic Confession: Bonhoeffer’s Rhetoric of Responsibility, Arnett locates cross-cultural and comparative anchors that not only bring legitimacy and relevance to the field but also develop a conceptual framework that will advance and inspire future scholarship.

Ronald C. Arnett is a professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies at Duquesne University and past editor of the Journal of Communication and Religion. He is the author of more than one hundred articles on philosophy and communication, and the author, coauthor, or editor of seven books, including Dialogic Civility in a Cynical Age: Community, Hope, and Interpersonal Relationships; Dialogic Education: Conversations About Ideas and Between Persons; and Communication and Community: Implications of Martin Buber’s Dialogue, a winner of the Religious Speech Communication Association Book Award.