Goodbye Friends

The beginning of this semester introduced me to the thoughts of scholars that I had known and heard about for years, but I never truly understood what they were about. The further we moved into the semester I was able to see how the early discussion of rhetoric influenced teaching styles for writing. Learning about the importance of oration from both Aristotle and Augustine was one of my favorite parts of the semester.  The ideas on teaching about writing were intriguing to learn about because I could see how my other professors were using them. I can't remember who discussed the idea that writing is not as luxurious as talking for those who English was their second language. Overall this course was incredibly interesting, and the discussions that we had in class were very enlightening on classroom techniques. Thank you everyone for your insights. I learned as much from you as I did from Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine. Enjoy your Summer!

William Covino

William Covino does not hold back in his review of past text books and authors strategies for teaching writing. His introduction to the topic was my favorite. The way he talked about the "rules for a successful paragraph" being impossible for the student to actually follow was spot on. I was taught to write paragraphs under a similar design and it was hard to do. He says," Thus situated, they seem awfully stiff and spare, and are intended to suggest that rules for writing are antiexpressivist, that they pale in comparison with the varieties of language play that can develop he imagination" (36).  By pointing out that the imagination can fuel word play, and create more expressive paragraphs and better paragraphs is incredibly important. In today's public school there is a shortage of pushing kids to express their imaginations, and I think this makes students feel down trodden in there writing. This makes them in turn not enjoy it, and this is a real problem. The way writing is taught truly effects the experience of the writer. This means that it is important to ensure that we don't follow a one size fits all program. When Covino quotes Murphy saying, "those who do not study the history of rhetoric will be the victims of it" (38).  There is a lot of negative connotation around "rhetoric" many people think of it as a form of manipulation, but after studying rhetoric in this class has shown that this is not the case. Covino makes the case that studying rhetoric improves writing. Overall Covino's study into several text books and several different teaching forms is important and revealing.

James Berlin

James Berlin wrote "Contemporary Composition: The Major Pedagogical Theories". In this text he discusses the process of teaching composition and the complexities that come with that. Berlin explained, "To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality, and how it can be communicated. To teach writing is to argue for a version of reality, and the best way of knowing and communicating it - to deal, as Paul Kameen has pointed out, in metarhetorical realm of epistemology and linguistics" (766). This is a thoughtful insight that shows a significant aspect of composition. Berlin continues with this thought process, and delves into the importance of a teachers role when instructing students on writing. He points out that when teachers offer contradictory advice it can be detrimental to the students. Making them confused and frustrated with their writing. He examines Aristotle's idea that in order to gain knowledge we have to use data from sense impressions. Then reality is demonstrated with the use of language that describes the data that has been gathered. It is my opinion that htis is an interesting way to describe the process of us gathering information. I personally haven't ever thought of how my senses have affected my writing.

Kenneth Burke

While reading Kenneth Burke's "From a Grammar of Motives: The Five Keys of Dramatism" I found it incredibly. When he states, "Men may violently disagree about the purposes behind a given act, or about the character of the person who did it, or how he did it, or in what kind of situation he acted; or they may even insist upon totally different words to name the act itself" (1298). When we discuss movies or plays we use the terms scene, act, agent, and agency all the time to me this has never been up for debate. Still Burke points out that at some point they were. It is important to have specific words that can be used to discuss the different sections of a larger piece like a play or a movie. By having the grammatical tools there is less confusion about what part we are discussing or what ideas were developed while watching these pieces performed. Additionally, the discussion of the fact that there is always an argument about things like this proves things will never change. As Burke progresses in his writing he explains how the ideas for movies and plays are developed and the idea of the "human barnyard". Essentially, he is taking things from the everyday life and finding the perfect point to exaggerate them to and then having the characters interact with them. He creates comedy, tragedies, and love stories from this barnyard and shows how the everyday life can develop into entertainment.

Christine De Pizan

I love a good feminist read, and I can say for certain that Christine De Pizan is my favorite Rhetorician so far. Christine said, "Here you can clearly see that not all opinions of men are based on reason and that these men are wrong" (544).  This reading was a debate on whether or not women should be educated. The opposing side thought that if women became educated their morals would be corrupted, but Christine gave supporting evidence that this would to be the case and that by educating women there was an opportunity for them to assist men further. Her examples of Novella and Hortensia were two daughters of two brilliant men. Their fathers taught them and soon the girls were as smart as their fathers, and Novella even presented lectures for law students when her father couldn't. Although, to keep her beauty from distracting the students a curtain was used to block her from view. I enjoyed reading this article because it is interesting to see how the argument for this basic right was used. Women had to fight tooth and nail to get to where we are today, and it all started with people like Christine De Pizan fighting for women's rights to education.

Aristotle Book 2

While reading Aristotle I was very surprised at how much I was able to understand. I read book 2 Chapter 18. The two sections that stood out to me were in the beginning and the middle of the piece. First Aristotle discusses the use of rhetoric and the discussions that have been had. He states that if a a topic has already been discussed and come to a conclusion it no longer needs to be discussed further. He stated, "Since the use of persuasive speech is directed to a judgement (there is no further need of speech on subjects that we know and have already judged)" (156).  While I think he makes the point that there is no need to waste time he ignores that things change and sometimes you have to revisit a subject you thought had already concluded. Next what I thought was interesting is how he approaches the topic of competing an argument that has no conclusion. Aristotle explains, "let us try to speak about enthymemes in general terms, so far as we can, and about paradigms, in order that having added what remains, we may complete the program originally outlined" (157). I thought this was a very bold idea because he seeks to answer the unanswered. To me it seems like he wants to conquer the continually circling debates that never end and always continue in the same patterns. This is supposed to be impossible, but he asks that instead of it being considered impossible to be conquered and answered instead of letting people to continue to wonder about the answer.

Gorgias's Ecomium of Helen

For this past reading I struggled to understand what these men were talking about. I definitely understand why they are considered to be great philosophers. One idea that I did latch onto though was with Gorgias's Ecomium of Helen. This text sought to use rhetoric to prove that Helen was not to blame for the the Trojan war. In the beginning of the text there is a paragraph that says, "for it is equal error and ignorance to blame the praiseworthy and to praise the blameworthy".  By having this idea at the beginning of his paper he was able to force the readers to pay attention. He almost calls them out by pointing out their ignorances. If the reader were to ignore this and not listen to his argument then he would have to face his ignorance. This then makes them pay attention to the entire document and possibly acknowledge the argument that Gorgias makes. This is a double edged sword though because if Gorgias is wrong he faces being ignorant for praising Helen. The rhetoric used here though is an incredible tool though it helped draw the reader in.

General Introduction

One of my favorite parts about attending school is when what I learn in class correlates with what I see happening through out the nation and the world. After the 2016 election, I saw a direct correlation between the way the candidates ideas were presented and the reaction from the audience. The reason for this is because the speakers were using specific forms of rhetoric to create a desired reaction from the audience. 

Rhetoric has been apart of education since the fifth century B.C.E. "When it developed in Greek Probate courts and flourished under Greek democracy"(1). Rhetoric is the art of persuasive speaking and can control the flow of power throughout a government. It is more than stating facts and providing information. It is providing this information in a way that not only informs the audience, but also moves them. Rhetoric demands that Logos, Ethos, and Pathos be used. Successful rhetoric will change minds or at the very least get the opposing side of an argument to pause and think. Although involving human stories is important rhetoric must rely on factual information as well, "It suggests resources for evidence and argument and gives rules for accurate reasoning" (2).  

 One of the reasons I believe learning about rhetoric is important is because not only are you able to prepare a convincing argument, but you can see through another persons argument. The ability to dissect and see the logical fallacies that another person uses can help you understand the strength of an argument rather than just being moved by what another person says. 

Aristotle was able to break down rhetoric into three separate forms of public speech. One was used for the courtroom, legal or forensic speech. Another was used for political or deliberative speech, this is what we see in every day media and political debates. Finally, ceremonial or epideictic public. Understanding the history of rhetoric will help us understand the type of rhetoric that we see used today.