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Jill Klooster
Kristin Parker
Gene Ross
Kateri Spellecy
Definition
Features of Rhetorical Communication
The 4 Bases of Interpretive Scholars
Opposition – Behavioral Scientists
Research Methods
Rhetorical Approach Applied
Rhetoric
Viewed by Aristotle as “discovering all possible means of
persuasion” (Griffin, 280)
Three approaches to a convincing argument (Griffin, 280):
Logos
Pathos
Ethos
Logos (Griffin, 280)
Uses logical argument (induction and deduction)
Inductive argument
Uses specific example
Claims that what is true for it is also true for a general
category
Moves from the specific to the general
Deductive argument
Begins with a general or universal rule accepted by most
people
Applies that claim to a specific example
Most important means of persuasion to Aristotle and only
legitimate one for Plato
Pathos (Griffin, 280)
Uses language, examples, diction, or images to create an
emotional reaction in the reader
Most common types
Anger at a social injustice, sympathy for another's
misfortune, or laughter at a humorous or illogical state of
affairs
Greek rhetoricians realized that humans sometimes can be
persuaded by the force of feeling alone, rather than rational
discussion
Ethos
Aristotle noted that sometimes trust alone is sufficient to
persuade the audience if the speaker or writer appears to be
trustworthy, knowledgeable, and benevolent (Kennedy, 1991)
Ethos involves three traits (Wheeler, 2001):
Rhetors must show themselves to be honest individuals of good
moral character who sincerely believe what they claim
Rhetors must show themselves competent, intelligent individuals
who know the material or subject-matter they are addressing
Rhetors must show themselves as open-minded individuals who
write because they are also concerned about the audience's best
interest or well-being
Rhetoric (Griffin, 45)
Art of using all available means of persuasion
Focuses on:
Lines of argument
Organization of ideas
Language use
Public speaking delivery
Rhetorical Approach
Interpretive approach (Griffin, 15)
Assigns meaning/value to communicative texts
Assumes multiple meanings/truths possible
Burke’s Dramatistic Pentad (Griffin, 15)
Five-pronged method of rhetorical criticism
Analyzes a speaker’s persuasive strategy through act, scene,
agent, agency, and purpose
As a drama develops, the symbolic action moves through
different stages
Rhetoricians
Part of a larger group of interpretive scholars (Griffin, 16)
“Separate world views of interpretive scientists and
scholars reflect contrasting assumptions about ways of
arriving at knowledge, the core of human nature,
questions of value, the very purpose of theory, and
methods of research.” (Griffin, 16)
Characteristics (Griffin, 45)
Speech distinguishes humans from other animals
Public address delivered in a democratic forum is most
effective in solving political problems
Single speaker attempts to influence an audience of
many listeners through persuasion
Oratorical training as the cornerstone of a leader’s
education
Focus on power and beauty of language to move people
emotionally and stir them to action
Public persuasion dominated by males
Multiple Realities (Griffin, 17)
Regarded as socially constructed through
communication
Language creates social realities always in flux
“A word, gesture, or an act may have constancy within a
given community, but it’s dangerous to assume that
interpretations can cross lines of time and space”
(Griffin, 17)
Largely subjective
Objectivity is a myth because knower and known cannot
be separated
Free Will (Griffin, 17-18)
Individuals make conscious choices
People’s actions possess conscious intent
Emancipation (Griffin, 18-19)
Often introduce their own ideologies when reviewing a
communication text
Value socially relevant research that seeks to liberate
people from any oppression
Focus on all points-of-view affecting collective decisions
and individuals openness to new ideas
Interpretive Guides (Griffin, 19-20)
Use of theory to make sense of unique communication
events
Explore meaning that makes up human existence
Use works of other interpretive scholars to establish a
basis from which to provide interpretive criticism
Definition (Griffin, 13)
Scholars applying the scientific method to describe,
predict, and explain recurring forms of human behavior
4 Bases of Behavioral Scientists
Truth (Griffin, 17)
Waiting to be discovered by the Five Senses
A discovered and validated principle will hold true as long as
conditions remain the same
Determinism (Griffin, 17-18)
Heredity and environment shape human experience
Behavior is a response to a prior stimulus
4 Bases of Behavioral Scientists (cont…)
Objectivity (Griffin, 18-19)
No individual influence from theorists
Ideas must be validated by an independent observer
Focus on effectiveness where successful communication of
information, ideas, and meaning to others remains top
priority; persuasion also important
Universal Laws (Griffin, 19)
Cover a variety of situations
Scholars repeatedly test their theories to validate laws
Main use of qualitative research methods (Griffin, 20)
Experiments (Griffin, 20)
Do not allow room for relationships to other people or
interpretation of communication other than defined by
established groups
Surveys (Griffin, 22)
Results still determined by groups/types of people
surveyed
More availability of information about individuals, but
still limited to those surveyed
Textual Analysis (Griffin, 22-23)
Rhetorical criticism the most common form
Interpretive scholars use this as a way to present and use
theory to reveal unjust communication practices creating or
encouraging an imbalance of power
Ethnography (Griffin, 23)
Exercises careful observation, extensive notes, and
participation that allows a researcher to experience a culture’s
meaning
Geertz states that he would not want to impose his way of
thinking onto a society’s construction of reality
Suggests a method used by behavioral scientists, but is often used
by interpretive scholars as well due to the understanding nature
Interpersonal Communication
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Relational Dialectics
Group & Public Communication
Cultural Approach
Critical Theory of Communication
Mass Communication
Cultural Studies
Cultural Context
Muted Group Theory
Interpersonal Communication
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Asserts “persons-in-conversation co-construct their own
social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the worlds
they create” (Griffin, 69)
Relational Dialectics
“A dynamic knot of contradictions in personal relationships;
an unceasing interplay between contrary or opposing
tendencies” (Griffin, 155)
Group & Public Communication
Cultural Approach
Culture: “Webs of significance; systems of shared meaning”
(Griffin, 251)
Cultural Performance: “Actions by which members constitute
and reveal their culture to themselves and others; an
ensemble of texts” (Griffin, 251)
Critical Theory of Communication
Approaches communication in the sense of corporate control
over areas of life outside the workplace (Griffin, 262)
Mass Communication
Cultural Studies
States that mass media manufactures consent for dominant
ideologies (Griffin, 334)
Cultural Context
Muted Group Theory (Griffin, 455)
A muted group is one made up of people with little power
The people in this group have trouble giving voice to their
perceptions because they must re-encode their thoughts to
make them understood in the public sphere
Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. Trans.
George A. Kennedy. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991.
Griffin, Em. (2008). A First Look at Communication
Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kennedy, George. (1991) "Aristotle. On Rhetoric: A Theory
of Civic Discourse." Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991.
Wheeler, Douglas.(2001). Rhetoric. Retrieved Octover 1,
2008, from: http://web.cn.edu/wheeler/resource_rhet.html
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadre
am.htm
Definition
Features of Rhetorical Communication
4 Bases of Interpretive Scholars
Opposition – Behavioral Scientists
Research Methods
Rhetorical Approach Applied