 Rhetoric The rhetor, the rhetorician, and the rhetorical.

Some Definitions Plato: The art of winning the soul by discourse. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

Some Definitions Aristotle: The faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

Some Definitions Quintillian: Rhetoric is the art of speaking well. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

Some Definitions George Campbell: Rhetoric is that art of talent by which discourse is adapted into its end. The four ends of discourse are to enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passion, and influence the will. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

Some Definitions I. A. Richards: Rhetoric is the study of misunderstandings and their remedies. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

Some Definitions Andrea Lunsford: Rhetoric is the art, practice, and study of human communication. Stanford University, “Some Definitions of Rhetoric”

The Fundamentals  At its essence, rhetoric may be defined as the study of how language—broadly defined as any sign system—is used to persuade.

The Fundamentals  At its essence, rhetoric may be defined as the study of how language—broadly defined as any sign system—is used to persuade.  This study allows us to do three primary tasks:  To analyze and understand texts written by others  To produce texts ourselves for others  To teach others what we know

Fundamentals  Rhetoric is a process or activity  It is not a thing or the discourse we create  It is not eloquence or persuasion itself

Beginning of Rhetoric  Ancient Greece is recognized as the country in which rhetoric originated ( ≈ 465 BC)

Beginning of Rhetoric  Ancient Greece is recognized as the country in which rhetoric originated ( ≈ 465 BC)  Accompanied by two major shifts  How reality was previously determined: by kings and by gods to by individuals  How knowledge was transmitted: spoken to written discourse

Beginning of Rhetoric  Ancient Greece is recognized as the country in which rhetoric originated ( ≈ 465 BC)  Accompanied by two major shifts  How reality was previously determined: by kings and by gods to by individuals  How knowledge was transmitted: spoken to written discourse  Sophists = first paid teachers, first rhetoricians

5 Cannons of Rhetoric  Before writing became commonplace, early Romans recognized five canons—components or principles—of rhetoric used to compose and give speeches.

5 Cannons Invention: Developing the strategy of an argument through the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos)

5 Cannons Invention: Developing the strategy of an argument through the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) Arrangement: Organizing the information in a familiar, logical, sequential order

5 Cannons Invention: Developing the strategy of an argument through the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) Arrangement: Organizing the information in a familiar, logical, sequential order Style: Choosing particular words and examples to make the message concrete, visual, and accessible to the audience

5 Cannons Invention: Developing the strategy of an argument through the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) Arrangement: Organizing the information in a familiar, logical, sequential order Style: Choosing particular words and examples to make the message concrete, visual, and accessible to the audience Memory: Committing a speech to the mind using mental frames

5 Cannons Invention: Developing the strategy of an argument through the three appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) Arrangement: Organizing the information in a familiar, logical, sequential order Style: Choosing particular words and examples to make the message concrete, visual, and accessible to the audience Memory: Committing a speech to the mind using mental frames Delivery: The use of voice and body to present the speech

Cannons  We redefine these terms today with written, oral, visual, and electronic media in mind.

Rhetorical Situation  What  When  Who  Which  Where  How

Rhetorical Situation  What  When  Who  Which  Where  How  Topic  Angle  Purpose  Readers  Context

Rhetorical Situation  What  When  Who  Which  Where  How  Topic  Angle  Purpose  Readers  Context  Act  Rhetor  Audience  Exigence (issue)

Rhetorical Situation  Audience  Context  Purpose

Rhetorical Situation  Audience  Context  Purpose  Audience  Exigence  Limitations

Rhetorical Situation  Audience  Context  Purpose  Audience  Exigence  Limitations

Applications of Rhetoric  Rhetoric helps us identify with those both within and outside of our communities  Likewise, rhetoric may divide us from those same groups  Analyzing the use of language helps us become better communicators and teachers  Analyzing others’ texts allows us to locate, critique, maintain, and challenge systems of power

Readers Profile What are their expectation

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading When will they be reading

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading When will they be reading Why will they be reading

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading When will they be reading Why will they be reading How will they be reading

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading When will they be reading Why will they be reading How will they be reading What are their values

Readers Profile What are their expectation Where will they be reading When will they be reading Why will they be reading How will they be reading What are their values What’s their attitude

Rhetoric & Literacy From “The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction” What do we mean by saying the audience is a fiction? Two things at least. First, that the writer must construct in his imagination, clearly or vaguely an audience cast in some sort of a role… Walter Ong, excerpt from Cross Talk in Comp Theory (3e), 60

Rhetoric & Literacy From “The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction” Second, we mean that the audience must correspondingly fictionalize itself. A reader has to play the role in which the author has cast him, which seldom coincides with his role in the rest of actual life. Walter Ong, excerpt from Cross Talk in Comp Theory (3e), 60

Rhetoric & Literacy From “The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction” For the speaker, the audience is in front of him. For the writer, the audience is simply further away, in time or space or both. Walter Ong, excerpt from Cross Talk in Comp Theory (3e), 57

Rhetoric & Literacy From “The Writer’s Audience is Always a Fiction” Context for the spoken word is simply present, centered in the person speaking and the one or ones to whom he addresses himself and to whom he is related existentially in terms of the circumambient actuality. Walter Ong, excerpt from Cross Talk in Comp Theory (3e), 57

Framing Theory  The concept of framing suggests that how something is presented influences the choices people make. California State University Northridge, “Framing and Framing Theory”

Framing Theory  The concept of framing suggests that how something is presented influences the choices people make.  “Communication itself comes with a frame. The elements of the Communication Frame include: a message, an audience, a messenger, a medium, images, a context, and especially higher-level moral and conceptual frames.” – George Lakoff, UCBerkeley California State University Northridge, “Framing and Framing Theory”

Activity Using the “rhetorical lenses” you have learned today, identify the rhetorical motives in this ad. Share with the class your analysis.