My definition of rhetoric has evolved throughout this
semester, but instead of getting more defined, it’s only gotten more
convoluted. The other day my sister actually asked me what it was, and I was
unable to give a succinct answer. I was just talking like “Well it has a lot to
do with persuasion but it’s also more than that. and it’s not just about the
words because it’s about place and time and who the speaker is and who the
audience is and culture and- it doesn’t really have a specific definition, ok?”.
And while part of me was kind of disappointed in myself for not having a better
answer by now, the rest of me knew that my lack of concrete definition shows
that I have more of a knowledge of what rhetoric than I did at the beginning of
the semester, not less.
As well as broadening my actual definition of rhetoric, one
of the other affects this class has had on me was to inspire a deep feeling of
annoyance- not at the class or anyone in it, but instead about the various occasions
of injustice towards women and non-western cultures. My most common thoughts
while doing the reading for this class were probably, “Are you freaking kidding
me?” and “Well, of course. Of course they did something horrible, have they
ever done anything else?”. While I do still hold out hope for more equal and
inclusive rhetorical practices in the future, after everything we’ve read and
talked about in this class it would be very easy to be overcome by a feeling of
hopelessness, to feel like inequality is all there’s ever been, and so it’s all
there can ever be. But I don’t believe that. I really think that since more and
more attention is being paid to non-western rhetoric, and more effort is being
made to equalize the practice, it’s possible that a global rhetorical approach
could emerge. That might be crazy. It might really be hopeless, but I need to
believe that it’s not. Because if people believe that it’s hopeless, then they
won’t even try. If they think they can never succeed, then they never will. So call
me crazy, or misguided, or in denial, but I’m going to go on believing that
equality is possible.
I agree that the lack of a concrete definition shows that you have more of a knowledge of what rhetoric is, than if you could give a concrete answer to your sister. I have learnt a lot about rhetoric before I took this class, and thought I had a general understanding of how it worked and what it meant. Some of this has changed during the semester, and I think it would change even more if I continued studying non-Western rhetorics. I do not think it is all about the persuasion, structure, and power, but more the larger picture, who speaks, what culture he/she/they come from, who the audience is, and so on. What I have learned from this class is that the definition of rhetoric will change the more you learn and study, and it will also depend on the type of rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteWe have been taught the Greek rhetoric since we started high school, which have made this class somewhat hard for me. I have really felt like an outsider, and I too have been annoyed. How is it possible that there are all these different types of rhetorics that I have not heard of? I thought that we lived in an including world, and that in this age and time we would know better than to teach half the story. After 4 years of studying I should have known about the rhetorics beyond the Greeks, the American Indians, or at least the rhetoric of our own Sami population in Norway. I too am hopeless and believe that there will be more effort to equalize the practice. At least I hope that by us taking the class it will make a small change. When I finish my English and education degree I will be responsible for teaching my students about rhetoric, and because of this class I hope I will be able to show them all types of rhetoric. At least as a minimal make them understand that the Greek rhetoric is not the only option, and that they should look for other ways of using rhetorics. Like you said: “So call me crazy, or misguided, or in denial, but I’m going to go on believing that equality is possible”.