Elements of Rhetorical Situation Michele Griegel-McCord, 2013

Elements of Rhetorical Sitaution Exigence Rhetor Audience Constraints Kairos

Definitions of EXIGENCE Lloyd Bitzer (1968) “An imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than in should be” Must be publically observable, grounded in reality Usually one main exigence control the situation Keith Grant-Davie the “matter and the motivation" of the discourse Can be multiple exigences vying for dominance Sees exigence as more complicated and less “objective” than previous scholars

Questions to Ask to Analyze Exigence What is the discourse about? Superficial Subject Matter What is the explicit subject matter of the discourse. Abstract Subject Matter What fundamental issues are represented by the topic of the discourse? What values are at stake?

Questions to Ask to Analyze Exigence Why is the discourse needed? What has prompted the discourse? Why is it the right time for the discourse? Why are the issues important and why do they need to be resolved?

Questions to Ask to Analyze Exigence What is the discourse trying to accomplish? What are the goals of the discourse? How is the audience supposed to react to the discourse? What are the primary and secondary objectives for the discourse?

Angle of Vision (Multiple Exigences)

Definition of Rhetor(s) Many scholarse argue that rhetor controls and shapes the rhetorical situation through his discourse (or lack thereof). Roles of rhetor are partly pre-determined but open to definition and/or redefinition. Rhetors are those people, real or imagined, responsible for the discourse and its authorial voice” The rhetor’s roles can vary from situation to situation – it is not static

Questions to Analyze rhetor’s role Who is the rhetor of a particular discourse? Individual or Multiple Rhetors (Rhetorical Team) What roles / identities does the rhetor have outside the discourse? What role / identity does the rhetor create for herself within the discourse? What role/identity is created for the rhetor by others?

Questions to Analyze rhetor’s role Who or what does the rhetor represent? A group or organization A discourse community A set of values and assumptions What does the rhetor stand to gain with his discourse? What does the rhetor stand to lose with his discourse?

Definitions of Audience Those who can directly impact the exigence (Bitzer)  "Those people, real or imagined, with whom rhetors negotiate through discourse to achieve rhetorical objectives" (Grant-Davie)

Factors that Complicate Audience Audience is more fluid than ever 24 news cycle Internet Social networking eroding public/private distinctions Harder to keep your audience narrow and specific Passage of time also changes audience

Questions to Analyze Audience Who is in a position to address the exigence? Is there are a real-time audience? Who might be the possible or probable audiences? What audience is addressed WITHIN the text itself?

Questions to Analyze Audience What are some of the potential values, assumptions, beliefs, experiences and needs of the intended audience? What is the relationship between the rhetor and the audience(s)? What does the text want the audience to become or to do?

Definitions of Constraints Bitzer (1968) Grant-Davie (1997) “persons, events, objects and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence” (8). Ex: beliefs, attitudes, documents, facts, traditions, images, interests, motives, etc. “All factors in the situation, aside from the rhetor and audience, that may lead the audience to be more or less sympathetic to the discourse and that therefore influence the rhetor’s response to the situation” (273). Ex: the emerging discourse, genre + conventions of language use, discourse communities, geography and social history

Positive & Negative Constraints POSITIVE CONSTRAINTS Rhetorical assets Those factors that work in the interest of the rhetor. NEGATIVE CONSTRAINTS Rhetorical liabilities Those factors that can hinder the rhetor’s case

Questions to Analyze Constraints What previous texts are already a part of the emerging discourse of this specific situation? Look at both immediate texts and background texts. What genre/form of discourse does the rhetor choose/have to create? What are the expected characteristics / conventions of the genre? How do these genre expectations influence the rhetor’s rhetorical choices?

Questions to Analyze Constraints What is the actual occasion for discourse? What is the medium of publication/dissemination? What discourse community is the rhetor seeking to join? What are the assumptions, values and priorities of that discourse community?

Questions to Analyze Constraints What current cultural attitudes, values, trends inform this situation? What recent historical, cultural, or political events impact the way a rhetor or audience might view this situation?

What is a Discourse Community? A group of individuals bound by a common interest who communicate through approved channels and whose discourse is regulated formally or informally. has a broadly agreed set of common public goals/interests has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback. utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims. in addition to owning genres, it has acquired some specific lexis. has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.

The Importance of Kairos Kairos = the opportunity for speaking, the occasion that prompts communication Kairos - timing Long Term Vs. Short term Appropriateness vs. Responsiveness