ENGL 4521
Friday, January 17
Any Questions or Comments From the reading?
Is this a novel or new perspective on the work of the critic?
What is familiar?
How are these authors asking you to think or work differently than you might have in the past?
Hart and daughton
“Rhetorical Criticism is the business of
identifying the complications of rhetoric and then unpacking or explaining them
in a comprehensive and efficient manner. The definition implies several things:
Rhetorical texts are complicated; there is an orderly way of describing these
complications; and the best criticism describes them elegantly” (22).
The Purposes of Rhetorical Criticism
-
To document social trends.
-
To provide general understanding via the case study method.
-
To create metaknowledge (analysis of implicit understanding)
-
To encounter the "other."
Remember, there are rules for rhetorical criticism:
"All public messages make sense to somone"
"All criticism is autobiography"
"Description before evaluation"
On encountering the other:
"We must remember that all persons have reasons for doing what they do (even if their reasons are not our reasons) and that we cannot understand others unless we are willing to leave our own tastes and prejudices at home" (27).
Killingsworth on the appeal
-
Why is Jimmie Killingsworth so interested in the "appeal"?
-
How does his notion of rhetoric "work" and how is it different from (or similar to Hart and Daughton)? There are 4 parts...what are they and how do they work?
-
What is "identification"? How does it result in "substitution" or "transformation"?
-
What is the role of "stereotyping" in rhetorical performance?
The appeal in a nutshell
“The success of the appeal depends upon the approach of the author to the audience (guided by common values) and the reciprocal movement of the audience toward the author. Such a movement always takes place through a medium—language certainly but also contextual elements that include a wide range of social, cultural, and historical factors” (5).
What do you think about Killingsworth's Wendell Berry example (pg. 6)?
A Test case
Does the "Imported from Detroit" ad:
-
Delineate the good? How so?
-
Specify an audience (or audiences)? Who are they?
-
Point to an actionable item?
-
What kinds of appeals do you think the ad is making?
ENGL 4521
By Scott Rogers
ENGL 4521
- 246
