English 505
Rhetorical Theory
Session One Notes
Goals/Objectives:
1) To begin to understand basic definitions of the term “rhetoric”
2) To begin to understand the commonalities of the various definitions of rhetoric
3) To begin to develop a framework for the study of rhetoric throughout the centuries
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Questions/Main Ideas
(Please write these down as
www.csbu.edu/~ecase
you think of them)
Click on “syllabi”
Then “English 505”
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Think about a time when you tried to convince someone to change his or her mind. How did
you go about it? Were you successful?
Now think of a time when someone tried to get you to change your mind. What arguments
did the person use? Was he or she successful?
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
In general, what do you think counts as persuasion in contemporary society? In other words,
how do people in our society go about trying to get people to change their minds?
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
What is meant by Rhetoric?
You may have heard the term used in a sense that means flowery or showy speech that
doesn’t really accomplish anything
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Rhetoric, in our case, has a far deeper meaning that often escapes popular uses of the term
Rhetoric also changes historically and depending on who is doing the defining
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Aristotle’s definition focused on (usually oral) persuasion
The anonymous book Rhetorica ad Herennium (formerly attributed to Cicero) focused on
the five canons: invention, arrangement, expression (style), memory and delivery
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Renaissance philosopher Peter Ramus emphasized only style and delivery – his influence
passed through John Milton, then Cambridge University to Trinity College in Dublin where
the first provosts were Puritans
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Then to America where they dominated the early Harvard curriculum (and hence the rest of
America)
Francis Bacon focused on understanding the mind of the audience – greatly influencing
psychology
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
(Just in case you don’t think rhetoric can be dangerous – consider Peter Ramus:
After achieving a prominent position, he was able to reveal that he was a Huguenot (French
Calvinist)
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
The Huguenots were critics of the Catholic Church
The Catholic church in France allied itself with the French monarchs, who sought to stamp
out Protestantism
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Marie de Medici, as queen mother of France, launched a holocaust against the Huguenots on
St. Bartholomew’s Day 1572, which raged for three days
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
One of the victims was Ramus
He was shot
Then stabbed
Then defenestrated (thrown out a window from a great height)
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Thrown into the Seine while still alive
Rescued
Then hacked to death
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
The twentieth century saw a plethora of new ways to look at rhetoric, focusing more on the
implications of rhetoric within particular cultures
These emphasize the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of rhetoric
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
So what do they have in common?
Basically, rhetoric includes words, images, and gestures presented to an audience for some
kind of purpose
Usually thought to include the content of those words, images and gestures
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
As well as the style or form in which they are presented
Rhetorical theory, then, is explanations for how rhetoric works and what it does
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Some problems:
The word “rhetoric” refers both to the symbols that are used in communication, as well as to
the theory about those symbols
The person doing the communicating is the rhetor
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
It is also used to generate future rhetorical theory
(Rhetorical criticism is the method used by rhetorical researchers, whereas social scientists
use surveys, experiments, etc.)
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Rhetorical theory is used to critique rhetoric so that rhetors have a better understanding of its
impact
Then, new rhetorical theory is developed or existing theory is modified through the critical
application of rhetorical principles
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Since rhetoric/rhetorical theory is constantly changing, we need a framework, which we will
use to evaluate rhetorical theories at various points in history
Our book identifies 12 characteristics we can use
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Six distinguishing characteristics:
1. Rhetoric is planned
2. Rhetoric is adapted to an audience
3. Rhetoric reveals human motives
4. Rhetoric is responsive
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
5. Rhetoric seeks persuasion
6. Rhetoric addresses contingent issues
And six social functions:
7. Rhetoric tests ideas
8. Rhetoric assists advocacy
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
9. Rhetoric distributes power
10. Rhetoric discovers facts
11. Rhetoric shapes knowledge
12. Rhetoric builds community
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
In addition, we’ll add three more characteristics:
13. Rhetoric is symbolic
Symbols are letters, images, or gestures that represent, or stand for, something else
Symbols are, by nature, arbitrary and subjective
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
That is, words, images, and gestures do not necessarily have meanings that we all share
There isn’t necessarily a direct relationship between the word and what it means for each
individual member
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
That is, the association between a sign and what it represents is not natural
Although we might share some ideas about what words mean, we also have a variety of
perspectives on the meaning of symbols
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Symbols include a variety of signs, including letters and words, but also pictures and nonverbal gestures
By this definition, even silence can be a symbol
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
14. Rhetoric establishes what is probably true
We are often asked to make decisions or take actions when we don’t know all the facts
Rhetoric is used in these situations to help us determine what is probably true
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Think of knowledge as existing on a continuum
At one end, you have certain truths (the theory of gravity)
At the other end are issues we accept only on faith (my wife loves me)
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
In the middle of the continuum are beliefs we form that are based on “informed opinion”
Acting on the “shared and compromised visions of the most probable course of action, based
on what they believe they know, here and now” (Lucaites & Condit)
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
15. Rhetorical Theory is inventive and analytic
Rhetorical Theory suggests ways of producing effective communication
But it also provides a way to analyze communication
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Rhetorical Theory is self-reflexive
It can critique itself
The questions rhetoric asks of other subjects can also be asked of itself
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
While this (inclusive) framework is useful for understanding rhetoric historically, we should
realize that there is a great deal of (historical) disagreement when it comes to determining the
limits of rhetoric
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Such disagreements give us an alternative framework, that of limitation:
Is rhetoric limited to persuasion?
Is rhetoric always intentional?
Is rhetoric comprised only of words?
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Is rhetoric limited to public address?
Is rhetoric concerned with proposition or style or both?
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
A third alternative framework comes from Scott (1975)
Attempted to create groupings of theorists by addressing the social forces that have led to
ideas about rhetoric
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Scott’s focus in on how messages result from the interacting of:
Speakers
Listeners
The world in which they live
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Scott contends that at different points in time, theorists will emphasize one of the three
elements – speaker, listener, world – more than the others
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
A speaker-oriented theory addresses the choices made by the speakers in creating rhetoric
That is, a focus on how speakers can use evidence or emotional appeals
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
A worldly view of rhetoric assigns to the speaker the role of the messenger
That is, the speaker simply uses rhetoric to convey some kind of external, objective truth
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
A listener perspective on rhetoric means that audience members are active agents in the
creation of rhetorical messages
Messages are viewed as “mosaics” in which audience members combine the ideas of several
speakers to form beliefs about what is true or false
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
For next time:
Carefully read about the 12 characteristics of rhetoric in Chapter 1
Begin to read about the Sophists in Chapter 2
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
Copy Response Questions #1 & #2
Complete #1 before coming to class
Save #2 for class
English 505 – Rhetorical Theory
I will also be posting notes online for each of the topics for you to fill in
Please download them and bring to class each time
Summary/Minute Paper: