TODAY

1)Icebreaker2)Quick check-in3)Rhetoric in the Age of the Triangle4)Overview of Inquiry 15)Freewriting exercise6)Reminder about forums/homework7)*time permitting* discussion of

readings (could be carry-over)

ICEBREAKER

This used to be “name the first CD you bought with your own money,” but since most people don’t buy CDs as often these days, it will be this:1) Say your name2) Tell us the first piece of music you

purchased with your own money

Phill’s secret shame: the first CD I bought with my own money was Please, Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘emPhill feels very old right now.

Questions?

Before we launch into class for today, are there any pressing questions about the syllabus, about various class resources, etc.?

Anyone having problems accessing anything?

Rhetoric: An Introduction

We will be talking extensively about rhetoric this semester, coming at it from

a variety of directions and with a variety of intents. But we will start

today where the art of rhetoric often starts, with Aristotle.

ARISTOTLE

This is Aristotle. History makes a strong case that he was not actually made of marble. He lived in Athens, Greece in 384 BC – 322 BC. He was a “thinker” and a “teacher.” A gentleman and a scholar!

Rhetoricby Aristotle

Aristotle claimed that rhetoric was “the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion.” This is sometimes also translated as “the use” of all available means of persuasion.

It isn’t that simple, of course (what ever is), but that’s a fantastic starting point. Aristotle elaborated, however, by giving us a triangular representation of how rhetoric works.

Ethos

Ethos is an appeal based on authority or coming from authority/expertise.

For example, Stephen Hawking has ethos to speak about physics, because

he’s an expert and overall super-genius type guy.

For our purposes, ethos will often be expressed via research and the

utilization of someone with ethos.

PathosPathos is an appeal based upon emotion. This is often considered—depending on the audience– either the most powerful or the most useless of rhetorical appeals.

We don’t see much of it in academic discourse, but pathos abounds in the real world.

For example, advertisers might persuade you that you need their product so that you can be like the people who use it, which explains why I have so many pairs of Air Jordans in my closet.

Logos

Logos is an appeal to logic. As a non-partisan bystander, I shouldn’t endorse any one over the others, but Logos is my favorite of the three. This is also the bread and butter of most academic arguments.

Logos applies logic, in the literal sense. For example, you shouldn’t run into traffic, because you might get hit by a car, and if you get hit by a car, you will get injured and perhaps die. You don’t want to die, so running into traffic without looking makes no logical sense.

The other triad

Aristotle includes a second relationship: speaker (writer, author),

text, and audience.

These are also of key importance, of course. They represent the three things that must be considered in

each rhetorical situation. This can be further expressed in this way:

Actor-> action->acted upon/toward

Popular culture…… to the rescue.

If you like– or even just know– Star Trek, you can use this simple reduction to easily remember how Ethos, Pathos and Logos work.

Think about the three main characters in the original Star Trek (or in the new movie). Whether or not it was intended, they represent the three points of the rhetorical triangle. Observe.

Kirk: Ethos

Kirk is the captain– meaning he’s the authority. He has Ethos. Always remember that Kirk is the boss and makes the decisions because he has the most authority and expertise. He’s also the best at yelling “KHHHHAAAAAN!”

McCoy (Bones): Pathos

The Enterprise’s resident doctor reminds us of Pathos with his

constant outbursts of “Damn it, Jim, I’m a doctor not a …”Hot headed

and passionate, Bones is all about Pathos.

If you’ve seen the new movie, you can also remember that his nickname comes from a moment of Pathos, as McCoy has gone through a divorce where he was left

with “only my bones.”

Spock: LogosAnd that leaves our friend Spock, the half-Vulcan, representing Logos. Always one to react out of logic without regard for emotion (unless you insult his mother or attack his bro Kirk), Spock reminds us of his role by saying “that is highly illogical” to things that are… that’s right… highly illogical.

FreewritingTo assist you in preparing for your first project, we’re going to participate in what Peter Elbow calls freewriting, slightly modified.

Here are the rules. You’re going to go to your Tumblr and start a new post (or open a word document and cut/paste post this later). I will give you a prompt. You will type about that prompt—without stopping for any reason, even to correct– until I give a new prompt.

REMEMBER: DO NOT STOP WRITING.EVEN TO FIX

SPELLING OR GRAMMAR ERRORS.

IF YOU HAVE TO TYPE “I AM THINKING” or “NO IDEA RIGHT

NOW” THAT’S OKAY.JUST KEEP WRITING.

Prompt 1: Make a list of all the technologies you can think of that you have written with. Think of writing here in the most general sense. Examples might be cell phones, computers, video game systems, etc.

Prompt 2: Look at your list. Pick three that seem interesting to you. Mark them somehow (*, #, bold them– whatever works best for you)

Prompt 3: The inquiry assignment asks for you to consider how technologies have made your writing and communication better or worse.

Make a list of writing habits you formed based on technolgies.

Prompt 4: Look over that list. Mark each one as negative (-), positive (+), or indifferent (=)

Prompt 5: Look at the two lists. See if you can make direct connections between the three technologies you marked on the first list and several of the + or – things on the second list.

Start grouping them, adding notes as you wish.

Prompt 6: Pick one of the groupings you just made and start writing about it.

Prompt 7: I am assuming for this prompt that you use Facebook. If you don’t, continue your writing from prompt 6.

If you use Facebook, think now about how your use of Facebook influences your style of writing and methods of communication. Make a list of the types of writing/communicating you do on the site.

Prompt 8: You have to contact me. What method do you choose, and how do you initiate communication/address me/etc.?

Prompt 9: How many of the following make sense to you? OMG. WTF. ROTFL. BRB. OMW. AFK. QFT. TL;DR. WTB. ASL. LOLLERS8Z. L33T.

What does that tell you?

Prompt 10: recount the process of writing the last paper you wrote in high school (or if you’ve done one in college already). What technologies were involved?

Homework/ReminderI have set the forums to be active, so you can now register.PLEASE REGISTER USING YOUR MU EMAIL ADDRESS AS YOUR LOGIN SO I CAN GRADE YOU.Your homework is:1) Post to the first forum: “What’s ‘cool’?”—what is the one piece of technology—a device, a piece of software, etc.—you cannot live without and why? 2) Read “About Facebook” (online)