Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ENC3331:RhetoricandCivicEngagement
Instructor:JulieWolcott
November20,2014
2,229Words
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writeispersuasive,evenifonlyatthemostbasiclevel.Generallyspeaking,peopledon'tlike
toread,andthefirstthingawriterhastodoispersuadetheiraudiencethatwhatthey've
writtenisworththereader'stimetime.
ThefirstsectionofLanguageLoadedLikeBulletsexpertlyshowshowrhetoricis
somethingthatwealluseandaresubjectedtoeveryday,whetherweareawareofitornot.
Astheauthorwrites,thoughwecanusetheserhetoricaltechniquesfarmoreeffectivelyifwe
knowwhythesetechniqueswork(Leith15).AftertakingthisclassIwoulddefinerhetoricas
theuseofspeech,writtenword,imagesandothervisualsymbolssuchasmultimediawhose
purposeistopersuadeanaudienceintosymbolicaction.Symbolicactionisanyactionthat
hassocietalconsequences,suchascastingavote,choosingwhetherornottorunaredlight,
orevenexchangingringsandmaritalvows(Palczweski15).Aristotle,astudentofPlatoand
classicalrhetoricianidentifiedthreepartstorhetoric,eachofwhichplaysavitalroleina
rhetoriciansabilitytopersuadetheiraudience:Ethos,PathosandLogos.
Ethosreferstotheethicsandcharacterofthespeaker.Anaudienceismuch
morelikelytorespondfavorablytoaspeakersmessageiftheyrespectthat
person,andmoreimportantlyiftheycanidentifywiththem.
Pathosinvolvesspeakingorwritinginsuchawaythattherhetorswordsand
actionsappealtotheemotionsthatweallhave(laughter,sadness,outrage)etc
Logosappealstothesenseoflogicinanaudience.EffectiveuseofLogos
wouldinvolveshowingonlythepositiveaspectsofonespositionwithout
revealingthenegativeaspects(oraddressingthemanddiscreditingthem).
HavingdefinedRhetoricassuchIwoulddefinethewordRhetoricalasanyaction
relatingtorhetoric.ARhetoricalquestionisaquestionthatdoesnotrequireananswer,butis
intendedtomakethepersonaskedthinkandpersuadethemtothinkonacertainmatter
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differently,andhopefullyincitethemtoengageinsomekindofsymbolicaction(votinga
certainway,supportingcertainpolicies,joiningaprotestagainstsocialinjustices).
Citizenship
AsWanpointsoutinIntheNameofCitizenship:TheWritingClassroomandthe
PromiseofCitizenshipcitizenshiphasmany,oftenconflictingdefinitions.Initsmostbasic
definition,itissimplyalegalstatus.Citizenshipinthatrespectissimplyacceptanceintoa
certainNationStateandgiventhesamerightsandresponsibilitiesaffordedtolegalresidents
ofsaidNationState(Wan33).AsaneducatorWanstressestheimportanceinfosteringa
moreparticipatoryanddemocraticcitizenship,amoreliteratecitizenship,andamoreactive
citizenshipBythelogicoftheparticipatorymodelofcitizenship,I'malmostcertainthatthere
arenoncitizenswhoaremorecivicallyengagedthanmyself,makingthemmoredeservingof
"citizen"status(Wan29).
Inthecontextofthisclass,Citizenshiptomehasmoretodowithresponsibilitiesand
accountabilityfortherolesthatweplayinsociety.Citizenshiptomemeansstayinginformed
aboutcivicissuesbothlocallyandnationally,forminganopinionaboutthem,andtaking
advantageoftherightsCitizenshipgrantsbyparticipatinginpolitics,andusingrhetorical
methodstoinformothers.TomeCitizenshipmeansanacuteawarenessthatIbelongtoa
society,andwiththosebenefitsalsocomecertainexpectations,suchasresponsibleconduct
inpublicspaces,considerationforfellowcitizens(aswellasforeignvisitors),participationin
volunteerwork,andstayingactivepolitically.
ThewordCitizenshipitselfisrhetorical,becauseitsacompletelysymbolicstateof
being.Thereusuallystepsonemusttakeinordertobecomeacitizen,butthosestepsare
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differentineachplaceandonceonebecomesacitizentheyarenotphysicallychanged.
Also,apersonscitizenshipisnotpermanentfromplacetoplace.IamaUScitizen,butifI
travelabroadIwillstillbeaUSCitizen,butalsoaguestandanoncitizenintheplacethatI
amvisiting.Thelawsthatwehaveinplaceinourcountryarelargelysymbolicaswell.Sure,
wehavelawenforcementpersonneltohelpenforceoursocietalrules,butforthemostpartI
wouldarguethattheonlythingthatkeepspeoplefrombreakingrulesiscommondecency,
notfearofbeingcaught,orlegalrepercussions.InthisrespectIwouldsaythatthereare
somepeoplewhoarenotUSCitizens,livinghereillegally,oronaWorkVisawhocouldbe
consideredbetterCitizens,whoaremorecivicallyengagedthansomelegalresidents.
Rhetorical Citizenship
Tomerhetoricalcitizenshipisonesabilitytounderstandpublicproblemsandissues
thatconcernsociety,formanopiniononthoseissues,andtocommunicatebothinwriting,
speech,andothervenuestoanaudienceinordertoinformthemandpersuadetheminto
somesortofsymbolicaction.TomeRhetoricalCitizenshipencompassesalmostevery
aspectofhowweconductourselves,bothintherealworldandindigitalenvironmentssuch
asFacebookandTwitter.AgoodRhetoricalCitizenwouldbekeenlyawareofthepowerof
wordsandsymbolsandusethemresponsiblyforthebettergoodofsociety,notforfickle
reasonssuchastoshock,harmorslander.
TomeRhetoricalCitizenshipalsomeanshavingcompetencyinvariousdigital
platformssincethepoweroftheinternethasgivensomanypeopleavoiceandanaudience.
Forinstance,IhadneverusedTwitterbeforethisclass,andduringthesemestermy
classmateshavesharedsomereallyinsightfulandthoughtprovokingarticlesandideathatI
wouldhaveneverbeenexposedtoifIhadntbecomeamember.Italsoprovidesmefora
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venuetoshareideaswithmyclassmates(althoughthelimitof140characterswassometimes
anannoyance,especiallyifIwassharingalinkwithalengthywebaddress).
Ithinkinthisdayandageitisimpossibletobeaproductiveandcontributing
RhetoricalCitizenwithouthavingagoodgrasponhowdifferentsocialmediaworks,the
advantagesthatdifferentsoftwarehaveoverothersforonesintendedaudience,andhowto
effectivelyandresponsiblyusethemtoinformandpersuadeothersintocivicaction.Making
upstories,orsharingstoriesthatoneknowsisfalseinordertochangeyouraudiencesmind
isnotbecomingofresponsibleRhetoricalCitizenship.
Chapter6ofRhetoricinCivicLifepointsouttheimportanceofdevelopingaunique
personathatwillbeassociatedwithsomeformofsymbolicaction.Arhetoricalcitizenshould
createapersonathatisuniquebothwhenspeakinginpublic,andbycreatingsomeformof
onlinefootprintviasocialmediasuchasFacebook,Twitter,LinkedInandcountlessothers
thatservevariousrhetoricalpurposes.Mostofusalreadydressandactdifferentlyinpublic
thanwedowhenwereathomewithourfamilies.Itisimportanttoconsiderwhetherthe
imageweveconstructforthepublicisbecomingofthemessageweretryingtopromote.A
goodrhetoricalcitizenwouldknowbetterthantocreateapersonathatwouldoffendhisorher
audience(Palczweski150).
WanreferstoliteracythroughoutIntheNameofCitizenship.Thegenerallyaccepted
definitionofliteracymeanstheabilitytounderstandthewrittenword.WhenWanusesthe
wordIthinkitencompassesamuchbroaderspectrumthansimplyknowinghowtoreadand
write.Tome,whenWanspeaksofliteracyshealsomeansskillsthatareimportanttocivic
engagement,andthereforebeingaproductivecitizen.Skillssuchascriticalthinking,the
abilitytocomprehendsymbolicideas,anunderstandingofhowoneslocalandnational
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governmentworks,andmostimportantlyopennesstotheideasofothersandwillingnessto
makechangestoonesopinionwhenpresentedwithcompellingevidence.Finallya
RhetoricalCitizenshouldbeabletoidentifyproblemsandformulatelogicalsolutions.
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timesandstops,sotheinformationisnolongercorrect.AnotherwayinIthinkthisclasshas
mademeabetterRhetoricalCitizenisbyforcingme
ThissemesterIwasalsorequiredtomakeaportfolioofmywork.Iveoftenthought
aboutstartingablogorcreatingsomekindofonlinepresenceformywork,butneverthought
anythingIwrotewasworthreading.ThefeedbackIvereceivedinthisclasshasmademe
moreconfidentaboutmywork,andmanyofthereadings(ParticularlyWan)haveconvinced
methatIdonthavetobeanexpertonatopicinordertowritesomethingmeaningfulaboutit.
FormyportfolioIhavewrittenacoupleofpieces,oneofthem,whichImincludingdiscusses
someofthedownsidespeopledontconsiderofMedicinalMarijuana.Iknowyoutolduswe
canremoveanythingwewantfromourportfoliowhenthesemesterisover,butIactuallyplan
onusingitasabeginningandcontinuingtoaddtoitaftertheclassisover.Ialsofounda
proposalthatIwroteaboutCanvasthatIthinkwouldbeworthincluding.
Withsomanypeopleconnectedtotheinternetbothathomeandontheirmobile
phonesweliveinanincreasinglyglobalcommunity.IthinkRhetoricalCitizenshipmeans
beingawareoftheglobalcommunitywebelongto,andIthinkthatourinternetcitizenship
supersedesanykindoflegalcitizenship.SocialmedialikeFacebook,andespeciallyTwitter
givesusdirectaccesstopoliticians,policymakers,colleaguesandpeers,anditsatoolthatI
wouldnothaveusedifnotforthisclass.SinceImassumingyouuseTwittereverysemester
IwilllikelycontinuetosearchtheENC3331hashtagevenafterIvecompletedthiscourse.
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Works Cited
Leith,Sam.WordslikeLoadedPistols:RhetoricfromAristotletoObama.NewYork.Basic
Books,2012.Web.8/20/14
Mirhady,DavidC.,andYunLeeToo.IsocratesI.Austin:UofTexas,2000.Print.
Palczweski,CatherineHelen,RichardIce,andJohnFritch.RhetoricinCivicLife.State
College,
Pa.:StrataPub.,2012.Print.
Wan,AmyJ.IntheNameofCitizenship:TheWritingClassroomandthePromiseof
Citizenship.
2011.Digital.
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