REMINDER: You’ll have to demonstrate understanding of both the Herrick text AND the primary texts that we have read.
1. Bakhtin said, “Truth is not born nor is it to be found inside the head of an individual person, it is born between people collectively searching for truth, in the process of their dialogic interaction.” Discuss how this idea can impact the goals and methods of rhetoric we have studied, comparing and contrasting it with the work of another theorist we have read this semester to summarize their dialogic interaction.
2. Consider the writing students you teach now or will possibly teach in the future. Choose two rhetoricians (one modern and one classical) that we have read about this term and discuss what each might contribute to your teaching philosophy. In your discussion, address the following three issues: 1) why you would consider these particular rhetoricians as your teaching mentors; 2) what “bone of contention” each of them might have with the other; and 3) how you would adapt each of their philosophies of rhetoric in your own teaching practice.
3. Herrick begins his The History and Theory of Rhetoric by acknowledging that for many people rhetoric has very negative connotations; it is seen as “synonymous with empty talk, or even deception” (1). Using examples from classical times to the present, discuss the popularity of rhetoric or the lack thereof. Does the present day redeem the term “rhetoric” or perpetuate its negative image?
4. Since Plato and Aristotle, it has been argued that a rhetor should change their delivery to fit different audiences. More modern rhetors have acknowledged the importance of audience, such as Mikhail Bakhtin, who went so far as to state that “A word is a bridge thrown between myself and another.” In what manner, referencing both classical and modern rhetoricians, has the concept of audience changed during the history of rhetoric?