Postmodern Perspectives and Burkean Clusters in Higher Education: The Analysis of a Mission Statement.

This paper analyzes the mission statement of a small liberal arts college: (1) to establish a rationale for examining a mission statement from a postmodern perspective, which will aid in the understanding of the context within which the mission statement and accompanying goals were developed and produced; (2) to clarify the multiple voices and readings of the rhetorical act, by identifying the ultimate terms used in the act and the clusters associated with them; and (3) to identify conflicts among various voices in the statement. The paper examines the statement and goals by deconstructing the text, context, and readers of the rhetorical act. Using Kenneth Burke's method of discovering ultimate terms and cluster analysis, the paper identifies terms directed at specific readers. And, through the enlightened lens produced by the deconstruction and cluster analysis, the paper discusses the conflicts of power existing in the mission statement. It points out that the college studied developed a statement of their "new" mission and goals as an introduction to the revised general education curriculum package intended to "take students into the 21st century." The paper finds that, in presenting a text to serve multiple readers, the message is diluted, occupying a dual position of change and tradition. The paper notes that those involved in the production of the rhetoric of higher education must realize the rhetorical implications that offer them either success or failure as they present themselves to the multiple voices that constitute modern society. Contains 29 references. (NKA)