Week One Participation Summary

I didn't know if we needed to do this or not, but if you wanted a quick summary of our readings here it is.

Our readings from chapters one through three in the Introduction to Rhetorical Theory introduce the art of Rhetoric to us through uses of explanations and examples of how rhetoric is used in everyday life. In chapter one the main theme is to discuss what rhetoric is and the processes we go through in rhetorical situations (the six actions). The chapter discusses continuities and discontinuities in communication and how when we have discontinuities in our communication “we strive to manage our symbols for specific goals”(pg. 6). We use rhetoric to induce certain results in our communication. Rhetoric takes place at certain and specific times in our communication and because of this is considered an art due to the knowledge needed in using it effectively.

Chapter two discusses how in each instance that rhetoric is used it is leading to a desired end result. Narrative, dialectic, and rhetoric were all explained in the social practice of rhetoric, which focuses on the joint transaction of thinking that occurs between communicators in rhetoric. Rhetoric was also described as a method in this chapter because it is something that is strategically planned in order to help us find out what is needed for certain communication situations. It stresses the fact that knowing your audience is an essential and important part in communicating effectively.

Chapter three gives the readers an idea of the opportunities in which rhetoric may occur. Rhetoric is very powerful in helping to shape the things around us, so we should take full use of that opportunity and apply it so that we can use our environments to our advantage. Rhetorical comm. has the ability to change and fit the needs of what is going on, but it is very important that if we begin to change communication we do it so that it appropriately fits the new situation. This chapter also discusses the exigence, audience, and constraint elements of rhetoric, but I am interested to learn more about these in our class discussion tomorrow.

The final piece we read for this week was the article by Bitzer. This article focuses on the situational element of rhetoric. Rhetoric, like described in chapter one, is very situational, but Bitzer makes an interesting point about rhetoric not always having to take place in discourse. It is the “situation which calls the discourse into existence”, his essay focuses on bringing rhetorical situation into a new light to be examined closer. I don’t exactly understand all of the elements of this article as well so I look forward to discussing it further in class.