.


POSTSCRIPT: 24 January 2005 (Monday)
--ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS.  We revisited Aristotle's concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos (as well as distinctions that have been drawn between invented and situated ethos) and looked at how these artful strategies were employed by Gary Hart in the 1987 speech in which he announced his withdrawal from the race for the Democratic nomination for president.  Consider how some of these same strategies are also employed in a "personal" letter generated by Publishers Clearing House.
--RHETORIC OF THE WORD.  By now you should be familiar with the terms denotation and connotation (more complex discussion here), euphemism (and while we're at it, dysphemism: a nastier way of expressing something; a word used as a weapon against others, or as a release valve for anxiety and frustration), etymology, and (most importantly) metaphor.   For examples of the rhetoric of individual words (and of word clusters), check out the following (purely optional):
-"What Those Code Words in Personal Ads Really Mean"
-"The Other War--The One of Words," by Bruce Lincoln.
--SPREZZATURA.  Our word of the day. 

PREVIEW: 24 and 26 January (Mon. & Wed.)
-- CHAPTER TWO of Ancient Rhetorics.  To deepen your understanding of the rhetorical concept of kairos (see the example of "A Daughter's Letter Home" in our online glossary), read Eric Charles White's explanation of this Greek term and its metaphorical etymology.  Note that the adjective form of kairos is kairotic.
-- RHETORICAL POINT TO PONDER.  In the popular press, the word rhetoric (in the narrow sense of political posturing or "mere talk") is often contrasted (unfavorably) with action.  Consider, however, the role of rhetoric (including visual rhetoric and kairos) in harnessing the worldwide response to the recent tsunami disaster.  In what ways, for instance, was the U.S. Government motivated to increase its tsunami aid pledge from $15 million to $35 million to $350 million within one week?  If you made a personal contribution, consider what information and/or images specifically motivated you to act.   Rather than view rhetoric and action as distinct activities, it might be more beneficial to think about the relationship between rhetoric and action.
-- RHETORICAL ANALYSIS.  In the first week of term, we spoke briefly about the basic characteristics of analysis: "show me" and "so what?"  That is, "show me" (or "point out") what you think are the significant details in the text (or speech or movie or ad or supermarket--or whatever it is you're analyzing); and then, regarding each of those points, answer the question, "So what?"--- so what is the significance of each detail?    What effect does that detail create (or attempt to create)?  How does it shape (or attempt to shape) the reader's response?  How does it work in concert with other details to create effects and shape the reader's response?   In a rhetorical analysis, of course, the "details" will include the rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices identified in our course text and in our glossary.  This Wednesday, you'll be submitting your first rhetorical analysis--of a print advertisement.  It's a warm-up exercise rather than a major course project; nonetheless, it should demonstrate your ability to analyze and to think rhetorically.

     When composing an analysis, presume (unless you're instructed otherwise) that your reader is already familiar with the text (or whatever manner of discourse) that you're analyzing.   In other words, there's no need to summarize something for its own sake: your reader can see the ad, read the poem, hear the speech.  Your job is first to direct the reader's attention to key details ("show me") and then explain why each of those details is significant ("so what?").  Because our primary objective in this class is to be able to compose thoughtful and thought-provoking rhetorical analyses, it's essential that we first have the tools to do the job and that we understand the fundamental nature of analysis. 

      Feel free to take advantage of any (or all) of the following online tools as you work on your ad analysis (see ASSIGNMENTS for Jan. 26): Rhetorical Analysis Worksheet; The Concepts of Rhetoric, by Henry Jankiewicz; Learning How to Identify the Three Main Rhetorical Styles.
-- RHETORIC OF THE WORD.  As we saw in our discussion of metaphor and etymology, individual words as well as complete texts are rhetorical.  This week we'll examine the power of a word's connotations in determining its effects on readers. 
-- CHAPTER FIVE of Ancient Rhetorics.  It would be worthwhile to study Chapter Five before you complete your rhetorical analysis of a print ad: most ads rely on some sort of logical appeal (in addition to appeals to ethos and pathos).  Give special attention to the discussion of enthymemes (pp. 141-146): you can view the notorious "Willie Horton ad" (analyzed in this section of Chapter Five) at the Living Room Candidate site for 1988 (click on the final thumbnail in the Republican column).   By now you should also also have a fundamental understanding of the rhetorical functions of induction, deduction, examples, analogies, maxims, and signs.

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POSTSCRIPT: 19 January (Wednesday)

WHY STUDY RHETORIC?: the open hand vs. the closed fist (Zeno).  We considered this question in light of both our own experiences in today's world and those of the Greeks in 5th century B.C..   At the end of the semester, I'll have more to say about rhetoric as a distinctive discipline and a subject for graduate study, but if you're curious about the recently revitalized interdisciplinary role of rhetoric, good starting points would include visits to the Rhetoric Society of America, the International Society for the History of Rhetoric, and the American Society for the History of Rhetoric. (At this last site, btw, you'll find the allegorical medieval image of Lady Rhetoric.)   For a less formal glimpse into the world of rhetorical studies, you might want to check out the blogora ("a public blogspace about rhetoric and rhetoricians"). 
-- CLASSIC RHETORIC: Plato's views.  In concert with Chapter One of our text, we looked at excerpts from Plato's Gorgias and Phaedrus.  We considered how the character of Socrates (himself a master rhetorician--though a firm opponent of the Sophists--quickly puts the Sophists at a disadvantage in Gorgias by manipulating the rhetorical situation to favor his own (Socratic) method.   Understanding why Plato opposed Athenian democracy should help us to appreciate, in part, why he also opposed the Sophists and the teaching of rhetoric.  In fact, both Plato and Aristotle opposed democracy, though for different reasons. 

The Gorgias also raises ethical questions about the teachings of the Sophists (e.g., does the ability to argue both sides of an issue signal an indifference to truth?) and asks how a discipline such as rhetoric can even be considered a "discipline" if it has no subject matter.   (These are issues that Aristotle takes up in a markedly different fashion in the Rhetoric.)   In addition, Plato charged: (1) rhetoric is the simple knack of producing pleasure; (2) it is merely a species of flattery; and (3) the power to move minds is evil since it often feeds on the ignorance of the audience.  To place this evening's excerpts in context, please read this quick summary of Gorgias.   (Purely optional: the  SparkNotes site also contains a more detailed analysis of each section of the Gorgias; Plato's complete text is also available online.) 

In Phaedrus, a later work by Plato, the character of Socrates recalls the legend of Theuth as a means of questioning the value of the new technology of writing ("a recipe for forgetting") as opposed to oral discourse.  As discussed in our text, Phaedrus also "hints at a true art of rhetoric" while proposing a kind of psychological analysis of human souls.  In addition to reading today's handout, please read this thoughtful summary of the Phaedrus, with particular attention to Socrates' discussion of an ideal rhetoric.  (Purely optional: the complete text of the Phaedrus is also online.)   Various scholars have suggested (perhaps simplistically) that Plato's Phaedrus provides the foundation for Aristotle's Rhetoric.  In any case, the Phaedrus makes clear that Plato's opposition to the methods of the Sophists was not accompanied by whole-hearted opposition to rhetoric itself.  
-- ON THE ORIGINS OF RHETORIC.  Recent scholarship (for example, Edward Schiappa's The Beginnings of Rhetorical Theory in Classical Greece, 1999) has challenged (or at least attempted to qualify) conventional views that western rhetoric was born with the democratization of Syracuse, developed by the Sophists in a somewhat shallow way, criticized by Plato in a somewhat impractical way, and rescued by Aristotle, whose Rhetoric found the mean between Sophistic relativism and Platonic idealism.  The Sophists were, in fact, a rather disparate group of teachers, some of whom may have been opportunistic hucksters and some of whom may have been closer in spirit and method to Aristotle and other philosophers.  In any case, the development of rhetoric in 5th-century B.C. certainly corresponded to the rise of the new legal system that accompanied the "democratic government" (i.e., the several hundred men who were defined as Athenian citizens) in parts of ancient Greece.  (Keep in mind that before the invention of lawyers, citizens represented themselves in the Assembly--usually in front of sizeable juries.)   It is believed that the Sophists generally taught by example rather than precept; that is, they prepared and delivered specimen speeches for their students to imitate.  In any case, it's difficult to identify anything like a common set of Sophistic rhetorical principles.   We do know a couple of things for certain: (1) that in the 4th century B.C. Aristotle assembled the rhetorical handbooks that were then available into a collection called the Synagoge Techne (now, unfortunately, lost); and (2) that his Rhetoric (which is, in fact, a collection of lecture notes) is the earliest extant example of a complete theory, or art, of rhetoric.  Next week, our attention shifts to Aristotle's Rhetoric.  (To get a head start,  please check out these excerpts from Book I of the Rhetoric.)
--RHETORIC OF ADVERTISING.   In preparation for assignments due next week, we revisited the concepts of visual metaphors and visual rhetoric, with particular attention to the different kinds of ethical, pathetic, and logical appeals found in print advertising and commercials.  [Purely optional: as a way to get ready for next week's work and to help learn some of our rhetorical terms, you'll benefit, I think, by reading McQuarrie and Mick's online article "Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language" (1996).]
--A FEW TERMS mentioned this evening: antithesis, chiasmus, copia, enthymeme, invented ethos and situated ethos, the five canons (or divisions) of rhetoric, artistic proofs, inartistic proofs, Ciceronian (style), .   Finally, how about a concise and engaging online lecture that covers many of the key points raised in tonight's class?  Please see Prof. Doris Werkman's lecture on "Artistic Proofs."


PREVIEW: 19 January (Wednesday)
-- CHAPTER ONE of Ancient Rhetorics.  Make sure that you're familiar with the authors' basic justifications for employing and for studying rhetoric.  Throughout the term, we'll be supplementing the brief section on "History of Ancient Rhetorics" (pp. 7-16), but for now I'd like you to read this short Georgia Tech page on Sophism, with special attention to the sophist Gorgias.
-- PLATO on RHETORIC AND WRITING.  This week, in addition to reading about two of Plato's dialogues on rhetoric, we'll also be looking at excerpts from the Gorgias and Phaedrus in class.  Though he argued against the Sophists, Plato himself was a consummate rhetorician.   Be prepared to explain that observation.   (For those who have never read any of Plato's dialogues before, check out this "Short Biography of Plato.")  Also, be prepared to summarize Plato's objections to rhetoric (particularly as expressed in Gorgias) as well as his critique of the new technology of writing and his vision of a "true art" of rhetoric (as expressed in Phaedrus). 
-- TERMS.  Several key terms are introduced in the first chapter of Ancient Rhetorics.  Make sure that you have at least a basic familiarity with the following (most of which also appear in our online glossary): commonplace, rhetor, rhetorician, rhetoric, rhetorical situation, sophist, enthymeme, example, maxim, sign, style, invention, testimony, ethos, pathos,  logos, the progymnasmata, and copia.
-- PLUS: This week we'll continue our look at rhetorical situations in everyday life and at visual rhetorics, especially in the context of advertising.


POSTSCRIPT: 12 January (Wednesday)
--SYLLABUS & WEB SITE QUIZ: The purpose of the quiz (besides illustrating verbal irony) was to emphasize the importance of reading and heeding the SYLLABUS and to outline some of my pet professorial peeves: (1) ignoring information and resources on the course web site (check NEWS often--and then follow the links); (2) arriving late to class; (3) whining (especially when it involves references to bodily functions); (4) academic codependency; (5) cell phones; (6) spoiled brats (of any age).  A few more include (7) vague pronoun reference ("What is this?"); (8) the inability to punctuate quotations (American style); and (9) top ten lists.
--TONIGHT'S TIP ON LEARNING THE TERMS.  When a term is introduced in class (or in these NOTES or in either of our course texts), make a point of trying to learn the term (and the concept behind it).  Be patient: your initial understanding may be fuzzy, but with additional practice, examples, and discussion, the significance of the term should grow clear.
--ORALITY AND RHETORIC (the origins of rhetoric, continued).  Orality produces a ritualistic kind of rhetoric based on repetition of similar performances in the present time before an immediate audience of participants and listeners.  The connections among speaker, message and listener [i.e., the rhetorical situation] are direct and personal.  The message is conveyed in repetitive or narrative increments and presents content that is familiar and that relates directly to the experiences of the hearers.  In oral cultures, people tend to rely on sound devices as aids to memory (one of the five offices of rhetoric) and to favor paratactic (as opposed to hypotactic) sentence structures.  [In our other course text, Analyzing Prose, Richard Lanham has much more to say about that final point.]  To be continued next Wednesday.
--TIP FOR CONDUCTING A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS.  Keep in mind the two related steps involved: "show me" (e.g., "Dark is a metaphor") and "So what?" (e.g., " . . . a conventional metaphor for death that parallels the metaphorical 'night' in the poem's title and so on). 
--"Do not go gentle into that good night" (): In addition to examining a few of the rhetorical structures and sound devices (e.g., alliteration, assonance, rhyme, metaphor, simile, pun, oxymoron--along with personification, dehortatio, apostrophe, polyptoton, antithesis, et al.) within  Dylan Thomas's villanelle, we briefly considered the effects of the rhetorical structure of  the poem.   As we saw, a useful way of initiating a rhetorical analysis is to consider alternatives: what if the writer had used this word (or phrase or structure) instead of the word (or phrase or structure) he or she did use? 
--VISUAL RHETORICS.  In our postmodern era, where increasingly language is subordinated to images, we need to adapt rhetorical studies accordingly.  Consider, for instance, how the visual metaphors in these three ads (for Morgan Stanley Dean Whitter, for the Chevy Blazer, and for Depend Guards) dominate the page, almost obscuring the text.  In class, we considered the power of the NIKE logo (scroll down to "Just Do It!" on the VISUAL RHETORICS page) and the evolving nature of political advertising from Ike's 1952 campaign to Lyndon Johnson's notorious "daisy commercial" in 1964.  (If these links don't take you directly to the clips, go to the home page of The Living Room Candidate, click on "election year 1952" (and then 1964), and finally click on the appropriate thumbnail.  Of course, you must have a multimedia player such as the RealPlayer or Windows Media.)  We'll continue our discussion next week when we turn to the rhetoric of advertising.
--AUDIO BONUS (purely optional--but highly recommended).   "Rhetoric": Originally broadcast on Oct. 28, 2004, this 45-minute BBC Radio program provides a cogent panel discussion on the history of rhetoric, from its origins in   ancient Greece to the present.  "Gorgias, the great sophist philosopher and master of rhetoric said, 'Speech is a powerful lord that with the smallest and most invisible body accomplished most godlike works. It can banish fear and remove grief, and instill pleasure and enhance pity. Divine sweetness transmitted through words is inductive of pleasure and reductive of pain.'  But for Plato it was a vice, and those like Gorgias who taught rhetoric were teaching the skills of lying in return for money and were a great danger.   He warned 'this device - be it which it may, art or mere artless empirical knack - must not, if we can help it, strike root in our society.'  But strike root it did, and there is a rich tradition of philosophers and theologians who have attempted to make sense of it.  How did the art of rhetoric develop?  What part has it played in philosophy and literature?  And does it still deserve the health warning applied so unambiguously by Plato?"  To listen to this excellent program (which provides a perfect outline to our historical study of rhetoric), visit the BBC Radio 4 "History in Our Time" page and click on "Listen again."
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POSTSCRIPT: 10 January (Monday)
PREVIEW: 12 January (Wednesday)
-- THEORY AND PRACTICE.  Don't hesitate to get a head start on Chapter One of Ancient Rhetorics.  While this text will provide us with the theoretical and historical sides of rhetoric, our class work (along with Analyzing Prose and some out-of-class work)  will provide opportunities to put theory into practice.  
-- DEFINITIONS.  After exchanging introductions at our first class meeting today, we danced around some definitions of rhetoric (check out this collection of definitions at Dr. Eskin's course site) and briefly considered the implications of rhetoric's origins in oral cultures and the importance of memory in those cultures.  In Chapter Three of Orality and Literacy (1982), Walter J. Ong lists some characteristics of the way people in a "primary oral culture" think and express themselves through narrative:
1. Expression is additive (i.e, " . . . and . . . and . . . and . . .") rather than subordinative.  
2. It is aggregative (e.g., a reliance on epithets and on parallel and antithetical phrases) rather than analytic.
3. It tends to be redundant or "copious."
4. Out of necessity, thought is conceptualized and then expressed with relatively close reference to the human world.
6. Expression is agonistically toned.
7. It is empathetic and participatory rather than objectively distanced.
8. It is situational rather than abstract. 
Put simply, many of the stylistic traits that we'll be examining in this course once had a very practical value: they helped people remember things.
-- ACCUMULATION.   To illustrate the point that rhetoric is an inherent part of our everyday lives, we considered how accumulation, the first term in our glossary, tends to occur in a rhetorical situation in which one person passes judgment on another by cataloging his or her failures or achievements (the former is a type of invective; the latter an  example of encomium).  
-- PROVERBS.  In predominantly oral cultures, proverbs (also known as maxims) are convenient vehicles for conveying simple beliefs and cultural attitudes.
-- METAPHOR.  Of all the rhetorical and stylistic devices that we'll be studying this term, the most prevalent is metaphor (sometimes referred to as "the primary trope").    In Monday's class, we considered how many common English words are actually "lost" or "buried" metaphors--including the word metaphor itself.   Using a good dictionary (such as the online Oxford English Dictionary), check out the etymologies  (or histories) of each of the the following words to see how a literal reference has gained a figurative meaning: ambition, astonish, disaster, escape, insult, record, prestige.  In addition, we considered how objects from everyday life (a "crisp and tangy" apple, a soft drink [Moxie], a bottle of Viking Blod) carry metaphorical meanings.  Btw, it was Daniel Boorstin in a book published over 40 years ago, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America, who first proposed that the cardboard box has proved to be the most influential American invention of the past two centuries.   The packaging of products in the 19th century (which made possible  branding and advertising) led inexorably to the packaging of people and events in our own time.  (Purely optional, but worth the visit: an excerpt from Boorstin's The Image.) 
-- ETHOS, PATHOS, LOGOS.  The simple transaction of borrowing a dollar served to illustrate three fundamental rhetorical concepts: ethos, pathos, and logos.  (We'll have a lot more to say about these "means of persuasion" in the weeks ahead.)
-- MORE NEW TERMS.  Two other (related) terms introduced on Monday evening: anaphora and epiphora.  
-- COMING SOON.  On Wednesday, as a way of demonstrating the prevalence of rhetoric in everyday life, we'll listen to an excerpt from a George Carlin routine (excerpts here) and analyze a few TV commercials.
-- TIP.  Make sure that you've read the course SYLLABUS by Wednesday--and don't forget to send me an e-mail.  

English 5730 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist
Office of Liberal Studies (Solms 211)
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912/921 5991

e-mail: engl5730@lycos.com      

                                       

UPDATED
20 January 2006