The Civility Cudgel: The Myth of Civility in Communication

Civility has become a buzzword, not only in our world at large, but in Communication scholarship specifically. However, the concept of communicative and dialogic civility is problematic due not only to its historical position as a term used for oppression, racism, and perpetuating hegemonic power, but in the issues it causes in modern praxis. In 1972, Barthes described the process through which words or images are emptied of their original meanings and filled with new meanings to create a “myth.” This work aims to deconstruct the myth of civility by examining its troubling history, establishing the problematic nature of its use in modern society, and endeavoring to discuss its unsettling foothold in modern Communication studies and pedagogy.