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Rhetorical analysis (text for teaching, 2006)
The key question in rhetorical analysis concerns the relationships that the speakers (or writers of texts) construct between themselves and the audience with their texts. Who is the speaker in the text? Who does the text address? How does the "matter itself", the topic of the text, function as part of the addressing? How does the text carry the opportunities for social relationships, links and distinctions, harmony and discord? Ultimately, we are dealing with the political aspects of a text: how does it invite you to act?
Methods of Rhetorical Criticism (Fall 2023)
An ever-changing assemblage of material-symbolic practices, rhetoric makes things matter in some ways rather than others. Rhetoric's force is manifold: it directs attention, generates feelings, constitutes identities, shapes beliefs, informs thinking, inspires action, and much else besides. That is, rhetoric makes worlds, or the contexts in which certain beings, ideas, values, objects, and other phenomena assume significance. Day in and day out, we evaluate and make judgments about the rhetorical phenomena we encounter. We are all, in other words, engaged in the activity of rhetorical criticism. But our engagement in this activity may be more or less conscious, more or less skillful, and more or less effective. The aim of this class, therefore, is not to transform you into a rhetorical critic. Its aim is, rather, to provide you with conceptual resources that will help you identify, describe, understand, explain, and judge rhetorical phenomena. The course will also provide you with an opportunity to develop a rigorous and sustained work of rhetorical criticism. Objectives Students who successfully complete CAS 311 are able to (1) define rhetoric in their own terms; (2) articulate the intellectual and civic values of rhetorical criticism; (3) understand and explain a variety of rhetorical concepts and make use of those concepts to evaluate and judge culturally significant rhetorical artifacts; and (4) compose a conceptually nuanced and incisive rhetorical criticism essay.
Finding a Methodology for Rhetorical Criticism
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Among the things which seem to frighten students considering rhetorical criticism as a contest event are two overriding concerns. The first, simply not understanding or misunderstanding the nature of the event, can be remedied with added information about the event, sympathetic coaching, and observation of other contestants. The second problem occurs once students locate rhetorical artifacts and begin preparing them for competition. At that point they realize that they need a "methodology." Furthermore, otherwise excellent coaches may falter when confronted with the need to explain the use of a methodology simply because they may not have a clear understanding of the purpose which the methodology serves in criticism. In fact, many coaches may not know the best means for locating and evaluating methodologies. The purpose of this article is to answer, at least in part, some frequent questions about choosing the methodology for a rhetorical criticism. First, what is a methodo...
Aesthetic Interpretation 15: Elements of Rhetoric
Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student, 4th ed., ed. Edward P.J. Corbett and Robert J. Connors (Oxford University Press) = CRMS In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century, ed. Robert Torricelli and Andrew Carroll (Kodansha) = IOOW Elements of Rhetoric, ed. James Engell, Sourcebook in American Rhetorical Practice and English-Speaking Rhetorical Theory = ER The Art of Public Speaking, 9th ed., Stephen E. Lucas (McGraw-Hill) = APS Articles and book excerpts on reserve = R Laminated Sheets on grammar, punctuation, and usage (useful for all writing) A Handbook for Public Speaking (optional, recommended)
An ever-changing assemblage of material-symbolic practices, rhetoric makes things matter in some ways rather than others. Rhetoric's force is manifold: it directs attention, generates feelings, constitutes identities, shapes beliefs, informs thinking, inspires action, and much else besides. That is, rhetoric makes worlds, or the contexts in which certain beings, ideas, values, objects, and other phenomena assume significance.