INTRODUCTION TO RHETORIC WRA 260 | January 9, 2019

Rhetoric is… In ancient times, people used rhetoric to make decisions, resolve disputes, and to mediate public discussion of important issues. Rhetoric helped people choose the best course of action when they disagreed about important political, religious, or social issues. “Rhetoric is the art of discovering in any given case the available means of persuasion” (Aristotle).

Reasons for Rhetoric’s Emergence as a Field of Study During 6th-4th century BCE, the citizens of Athens evolved a form of government called demokratia (demos=people kratos=political power) NOT a representative democracy, like the U.S., instead every Athenian citizen (read: citizen/male/ property owner) played a direct role in making important decisions for the community Role of discussing/debating/putting forth ideas generally left to the rhetors. “The orator need have no knowledge of the truth about things; it is enough for him to have discovered a knack of persuading the ignorant that he seems to know more than the experts” (Plato).

Types of Rhetoric Taught Legal or Forensic: took place in the courtroom and concerns judgement about a past action. Political or Deliberative: took place in the legislative assembly, concerned with moving people to future action. Ceremonial or Epideictic: took place in the public forum, intended to strengthen shared beliefs about the present state of affairs. “I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing” (Socrates).

Definitions of Rhetoric Aristotle: “the art of discovering the available means of persuasion in the given case.” Cicero: “speech designed to persuade” Quintillian: “the good man speaking well” John Poulakos: “Rhetoric is the art which seeks to capture in opportune moments that which is appropriate and attempts to suggest that which is possible.” Kenneth Burke: Rhetoric is “the use of words by human agents to form attitudes or to induce actions in other human agents.”

Changing Minds … From a rhetorician’s point of view, shouts and screams forestall invention. Participation in rhetoric entails that every party to the discussion be aware that beliefs may change during the exchange and discussion of points of view. All parties to a rhetorical transaction must be willing to be persuaded by good arguments. Otherwise, decisions will be made for bad reasons, or for self-interested reasons, or no reasons at all. Can you change your opinion without changing your identity? What’s at stake when someone says, in an argument, “well, that’s just your opinion” ?

Invention & Change Write for a few minutes on the following prompt: Was there ever a time where you had a discussion or argument with someone when your mind was changed on an issue? If not, why not? If so, what caused your mind to be changed? Reflect back on this time and think about how/if/why it changed? After 3-5 minutes of writing, you will share with your group for 5 minutes and then share one example from your table with the whole class.

Ideology An ideology is a coherent set of believes that people use to understand events and the behavior of other people. Ideologies help us decide how to value what we know—they tell us what is thought to be true, or right, or good, or beautiful in a community

Unspeak Every choice of a particular word represents a decision not to use another one. Poole talks about words like pro-choice, friends of the earth, and tax relief.

Putting it together Every choice happens within a rhetorical situation. This situation includes Audience Purpose Context Last night’s Presidential Speech on the government shutdown and the border wall. Every choice of a particular word represents a decision not to use another one.

Tonight, I am speaking to you because there is a growing humanitarian and security crisis at our southern border. Every day customs and border patrol agents encounter thousands of illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. We are out of space to hold them and we have no way to promptly return them back home to their country. America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society and contribute to our nation. But, all Americans are hurt by uncontrolled illegal migration. It strains public resources and drives down jobs and wages. Among those hardest hit are African-Americans and Hispanic Americans. Our southern border is a pipeline for vast quantities of illegal drugs, including meth, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl. Every week 300 of our citizens are killed by heroin alone, 90 percent of which floods across from our southern border. More Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War.

Unspeak? Old, but interesting, interview with Frank Luntz. (listen from beginning to 7:40). In groups, explore whitehouse.gov and find 3-5 examples of word or phrase choices you think are "unspeak." Be prepared to share with class.

For Monday Read Foss, Sonja J. "Chapter 3: Neo-Aristotelian Criticism - Genesis of Rhetorical Criticism." Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration & Practice.Waveland Press. 2004. (see D2L) Read Kinross, Robin. "The Rhetoric of Neutrality." In Victor Margolin (Ed.), Design Discourse: History/Theory/Criticism, University of Chicago Press, 1989, pp. 131-143. (see D2L) Pay attention to “what counts AS rhetoric and how do we analyze it?”