INTRODUCTION TO RHETORIC AS A TOPIC OF STUDY

1) What are we going to study?

The history of Rhetoric as a topic consists of 2,500 years of communication practice, theorizing as to how that practice works, and teaching as to how to best produce it. In other words, a body of literature as to: THEORIES, MODELS, AND PRACTICE.

The study of MODELS--

speakers, speeches, and written discourse--is generally done in courses perhaps titled "history of [X type of] public address," or in our case at Bradley in a course focused on criticism of communication events: communication analysis (often referred to as rhetorical criticism), or in literature courses titled "literary criticism."

The study of PRACTICE--

communication production--takes place in public speaking, oral interpretation, interpersonal, small group, listening, and writing courses.

This course, 303, focuses on the study of Rhetorical THEORY--

by examining the historical personages, literature, and social circumstances which produced our understandings of how communication operates. This study includes interest in learnings as to how to transfer theory into practice through models: approaches to pedagogy. Communication Theory examines these questions from a social scientific point of view. Rhetorical Theory examines these questions from a humanistic point of view.

2) How may we define the topic?

Over the course of 2,500 there have been numerous definitions for the term "Rhetoric." Let's note three main approaches, the details and significance of which we will examine in greater detail through the course.

-Rhetoric is the art of discovering all the available means of persuasion in any given case (Aristotle)

-Rhetoric is adjusting ideas to people and people to ideas (Bryant)

-Rhetoric is communication which helps people think alike so that they may share values, dispositions toward actions, and actions. (Burke and Perelman)

3) Let's summarize that which Rhetoric is probably not.

(Imagine 3 circles: widest is Communication, with Persuasion and Rhetoric inside, overlapping)

It's probably not equivalent to "communication": that is generally treated as a more broad term. It's probably not equivalent to "persuasion": that is often treated as a more narrow term. While all persuasion is communication and all rhetoric is communication there is certainly communication which is neither persuasive nor rhetorical and there may be rhetoric which is not persuasive. The key thing to remember here: various theorists size these circles differently. The majority view tends to equate rhetoric and persuasion.

4) Although it has sometimes been treated as such, Rhetoric is not western civilization's key devil term.

You may hear that

-it is empty talk

-it is the ornamental use of overly fancy words

-it is the linguistic substitute for action not taken

-it is the substitution of irrationality for reason

-it primarily involves appearances rather than reality

-it is primarily unethical

We do not treat Rhetoric as any of these negatives. I will try to show you over the course of the term that these explanations are wrong. At the end of the course, you may decide that one or more of them were right. At various points in the 2,500 years, Rhetoric has suffered from one or more of these deficiencies--but given the scope of history we do not throw out the good merely due to periods of blame (we don't toss science due to Hiroshima; we don't dismiss all visual arts due to some pornography).

5) So why do we study Rhetorical theory: who needs it?

Every discipline which seeks to convey its subject matter in order to gain adherents:

we will see that "experts" have to learn to convey "hidden" truths to the masses and that "experts" have to convince others of the truth of their claims.

Every individual who wants their communication to have impact:

we will see that politicians, lawyers, and business people must use rhetoric if they are to succeed.

Those who seek to elevate their communication from the human to the humane:

The key issues here being two kinds of choice making. First, there is choice making as to what to say and how to say it. Animals can signal their intentions but that which they signal has a unitary relation with that which they want. Humans symbolize by replacing that which is not there with oral sounds and scratches on paper. There is nearly infinite variety available in the sounds and scratches they may make. We make these choices in a personal way. The more deftly we do so, the more creative become our choices. The more creative, the closer we move toward art. The closer toward artistic expression, the closer we move toward the humane condition, as opposed to the merely human. Second, rhetoric stresses the importance of society--of others. Our artistic action presents others with communicative choices rather than with force. The purpose of rhetoric is to coordinate human interaction by making a given choice preferable.

5) Humans cooperate by the social act of constructing mutually compatible interpretations of reality. Rhetoric is the refinement of the communicative life of the individual for the good of the society.