Commonplaces: Shorthand visual, linguistic cues for communities ENG 582: Gender and Popular Culture ENG 582: Gender and Popular Culture

Commonplaces provide window to rhetorical situation History  Must understand what has happened before in the given discourse community Audience  Simple (similar, shared interests and goals -- discourse community)  Multiple (people with different backgrounds and goals) Ethos  Must be built through  Knowledge of the subject  Have audience’s needs in mind Counterargument  Easier when you understand the discourse community you are addressing History  Must understand what has happened before in the given discourse community Audience  Simple (similar, shared interests and goals -- discourse community)  Multiple (people with different backgrounds and goals) Ethos  Must be built through  Knowledge of the subject  Have audience’s needs in mind Counterargument  Easier when you understand the discourse community you are addressing

Evolutions  Began with Aristotle’s topoi  Milcah Martha Moore’s book is like traditional male versions - storehouse model  In 17th century focus shifted with humanists to emphasis on morality, social mores (no images)  18th and 19th century shift was for “genteel” class, mainly women (few words of one’s own)  Modern Examples: commonplace books, scrapbooks, blogs  All inform about the kinds of discourse communities people join or wish to join (for our class, the community of “girl” and “women”)  Began with Aristotle’s topoi  Milcah Martha Moore’s book is like traditional male versions - storehouse model  In 17th century focus shifted with humanists to emphasis on morality, social mores (no images)  18th and 19th century shift was for “genteel” class, mainly women (few words of one’s own)  Modern Examples: commonplace books, scrapbooks, blogs  All inform about the kinds of discourse communities people join or wish to join (for our class, the community of “girl” and “women”)

Communities and Commonplaces  Modern commonplaces help us analyze, gain access to Discourse Communities  Can be phrases (In God We Trust), concepts (freedom), icons (Statue of Liberty), images  Modern commonplaces help us analyze, gain access to Discourse Communities  Can be phrases (In God We Trust), concepts (freedom), icons (Statue of Liberty), images

Provides entry into Discourse Communities  Gender roles - women as caregivers (pet owners, moms)

Models for motherhood  This historic commonplace book offers images of infants and children  Was way for women to record societal views of womanhood  Perpetuates “womanly” roles  Instructs “rules” and “societal norms” for communities  Can be questioned, reshaped  This historic commonplace book offers images of infants and children  Was way for women to record societal views of womanhood  Perpetuates “womanly” roles  Instructs “rules” and “societal norms” for communities  Can be questioned, reshaped

Site for resisting societal norms  Challenges social rules  Exhibits “unladylike” characteristics of anger, dissatisfaction  Perfectly combines images from popular culture with author’s words  Modern commonplace book not only describes commonplace, but also comments on it  Challenges social rules  Exhibits “unladylike” characteristics of anger, dissatisfaction  Perfectly combines images from popular culture with author’s words  Modern commonplace book not only describes commonplace, but also comments on it

Agents of change  For 18th- and 19th-century women were sites of identity construction  Potential is seen in Helton’s work here  Builds image of self as mother - future  Includes current image of self as wife  All tied to past (self as grad, daughter, poet)  For 18th- and 19th-century women were sites of identity construction  Potential is seen in Helton’s work here  Builds image of self as mother - future  Includes current image of self as wife  All tied to past (self as grad, daughter, poet)

Other sample commonplaces