ENGL 402 - Week 2

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Week 2 Readings

Intro to Guide to Compostion Studies.pdf GraphicGuidetoWriting.pdf Fleming_Chapter.pdf Lindemann_Chapter.pdf

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"What do teachers need to know about rhetoric?" by Erika Lindemann

Rhetoric - "a symbolic means of inducing cooperation." (33) Rhetoric is used in many types of media, but not all communication has a rhetorical purpose. It is only rhetorical when it is meant to influence the actions of others---to help us understand our choices.

Questions to Answer:

1. What is rhetoric? - Rhetoric, dealing with language specifically, "is a fraudulent practice intended to give some people an advantage over others by appealing to their emotions or prejudices, but not to their intelligence" (35) & "'the faculty [power] of discovering in the particular case...the available means of persuasion'" (36).

Every historical period connotates the tradition differently.

• Classical Rhetoric: primarily spoken, not written, persuasive discourse which enabled politicians. Cicero believed rhetoric was a type of political science.
• Ethos: moral good will of man.
• Pathos: character or mental state of the audience.
• Logos: argue from the subject matter, use inductive and deductive thinking.
• Renaissance Rhetoric: became both a practical art and academic subject---"Renaissance rhetoricians were also preoccupied with words, particularly with the distinction between words and the 'things' they stood for...." (40).
• Twentieth-Century Rhetoric: three new avenues of rhetorical theory: scientific (Sir Francis Bacon), elocutionary (the art of speaking), and literary (written rhetoric) perspectives.
• Contemporary Rhetoric: Two major literary influencers, Kenneth Burke and James Kinneavy.
• Burke: "Rhetoric is a function of language which enables human beings to overcome the divisions separating them" (49).
• Kinneavy: focuses on discourse, "the general science or art of communication" (50).

2. Why do we discuss writing in terms of writer-reader-subject?
3. What is a topic?
4. Where did the five-paragraph theme come from?
5. What is style and what explains our preference for plain, clear writing?

   "three levels of style---high, middle and low---intended respectively to move, delight, and teach the audience." (40).

Correct style refers to that which follows classical models (Greek and Roman). Many have described style as "absolute law" (47).

5. Why do traditional courses concern themselves with grammar instruction, imitating models of good prose, and studying literature?
6. What is a mode?

"For Kinneavy, the term mode denotes the kinds of realities discourse refers to. Modes answer the question, 'What is this text about?'" (52).

7. How is "new" rhetoric different from classical rhetoric?
   • New rhetoric is characterized by "Identification" (49) or how the persuader identifies with his or her audience.

(questions quoted from page 35)

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"Rhetoric and Argumentation" by David Fleming

What is an argument? In Classical Rhetoric, the object was to use language, particularly orally delivered speeches of a political nature, to persuade audiences through emotion. "...rhetoric's mode was never exclusively 'logical'" (250). Evidence was not as importance as affecting the audience with emotion, to keep them attentive and hanging on your words. "...to facilitate controversy, not to suppress it" (251).

Aristotle's "Offices" of the Rhetor:

1. Invention
2. Arrangement
3. Style
4. Memory
5. Delivery

Logos, Ethos, and Pathos are represented in Artistotelian rhetoric by a triangle.

This changes a lot by Twentieth-Century Rhetoric. Burke believed rhetoric should be used to "'traverse division'" (256).

Rogerian Argument:

1. An introduction to the problem and a demonstration that the opponent's position is understood.
2. A statement of the contexts in which the opponent's position may be valid.
3. A statement of the writer's position, including the contexts in which it is valid.
4. A statement of how the opponent's position would benefit if he were to adopt elements of the writer's position. If the writer can show that the positions complement each other...so much the better. (quoted from page 256)

Toulmin Argument:

CLAIM - an assertion around which to build an argument. DATA - the argument, the evidence. WARRANT - what authorizes the argument? How did we get from data to claim? BACKING - evidence in history and society that bolsters claim.

"That discourse has begun to seep into composition instruction, as have the practices of new interactive media. Brian Jackson and Jon Wallin claim, for example, that the 'back-and-forthness' of rhetoric on Web 2.0 sites like YouTube has potential for encouraging political participation among students, acclimating them 'to a public ecology in which the single-authored, one-time essay has lost its significance'" (260).

Fleming's Model for Literary Argument:

1. Begin with a problem.
2. Defer position-staking - stating a thesis too early can be detrimental down the line.
3. Provide scaffolding - tools and resources for students.
4. Set up a debate - human reasoning improves when its tested through oral speech.
5. Ask the group to decide the issue.
6. Publish and circulate final opinions.
7. Encourage Reflection.

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Synthesized Thoughts: First Reading Response

After trudging through what was my first experience with rhetoric as subject matter, I found myself completely inspired by one idea from Fleming's chapter dealing with what William Gibson calls, "the eversion of cyberspace" (Jones 7). The emergence of Web 2.0 has seriously complicated methods of rhetoric in that it increases the frequency of our most basic human interactions. These "interactive media" outlets, such as YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and so on, invite individuals of any social standing (and often all ages) to participate in a great transference of discourse---so long as they have an internet connection. This inherently affects the ways in which we form our arguments as social media allows us to become eerily familiar with our audiences and, therefore, more apt to play on their emotional responses. A product of "new rhetoric," we "identify" with our audiences faster because the audiences that identify with us find us faster. We saw this during the election with the fervent upswing of fake, fear-mongering content flooding our social media feeds. Without clear instruction and purposeful application, I fear we may lose our ability to argue. Despite being an English major, I was made to take a Values Seminar in college which, in part, taught us the importance of forming and deconstructing arguments. We mainly focused on the Claim, Data, Warrant, Backing method---addressed in Fleming's chapter---with regard to synthesizing information from multiple media outlets. Though I spent nearly four years studying literature, some of which certainly had rhetorical intent, this was my first experience in college actually taking time to break down an argument.

I think it makes sense that a mandatory composition class be a student's first exposure to rhetoric and argumentation in college. It is a scientific method for understanding how we attempt to influence each other through language, and I fear many of us would benefit from that course of study as early on as possible. I also feel as though a rhetoric module would help steer the conversation away from the treacherous, subjective waters of literary analysis so many college freshman dread. Responding to the readings from last week, I'm just not sure ENGL 101 is at its most effective when reading literature is the primary focus. "Literature" is inherently subjective and modern students are primarily motivated toward STEM or vocational degrees because that's the society from which they derive and, while these students may be critically motivated, they can still be vulnerable if they are not equipped to argue or (at the very least) identify when an argument is failing. If the rest of their time is mostly accounted for then they need to cultivate these skills when they can, and that's in ENGL 101.

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Five Principles of Ignatian Pedagogy

1. Context - an individual's personal history.
2. Experience - the events that brought them to this place.
3. Reflection - taking time to think about what you're learning and how it compares to your context and experience.
4. Action - how does your reflection affect your actions?
5. Evaluation - personal and collaborative synthesis of findings.