Rhetoric Review Apr 2023

“One Among Many”: Piety Reconstruction in 12-Step Recovery Groups

Michelle Cowan

Abstract

This article applies Kenneth Burke’s concept of piety to an evaluation of nine recovery stories from members of four different 12-step fellowships. In this theoretical context, recovery can be explained as a process of adopting and remaking pious systems. All nine recovery stories follow a similar pattern: (1) identifying difference and similarity in the community; (2) letting go of old pieties; (3) adopting group piety; and (4) inventing and remaking individual systems of piety. This analysis investigates how individual and group pieties interact to strengthen or threaten individual recovery and group cohesion.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2023-04-03
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2023.2210797
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Topics
modern rhetorical theory assessment archival research
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