what is
rhetoric? what is the history and theory of rhetoric? What do you want to do
with the content from this course?
Here's an excerpt from a paper I once
wrote on the ars rhetoricae or
rhetorical arts:
"Since its inception, the
field of technical communication has maintained an identity crisis. Scholars
disagree on the placement of technical communication courses -- should it be
housed in the English department or is it a branch of sciences and technology?
Scholars disagree on the content and goals of coursework. Scholars disagree
whether the term 'technical communication' should even be defined. As the
global marketplace expands, technical communication takes on new life locally
and abroad, for native speakers of the many varieties of English and non-native
English speakers studying in their home towns and abroad. Much as the field of
technical communication must adapt to its audience, purpose, and context, so
must the teaching of technical communication in order to meet an infinite and
adaptive student audience."
Throughout modern history, the ars rhetoricae developed from Greeks proclaiming
their histories and laws of the land, through the Roman Empire as religion took
hold and readers such as St. Augustine reportedly repented and converted upon
reading the words of St. Paul, through the invention of Gutenberg's printing
press, through the books of death distributed in the Dark Ages training children
and adults how to prepare their souls for the inevitable, through the
industrial age of Dicken's Pickwick Papers, and into the present century where
we're still teaching our parents how to connect to the internet even as 3D
printers are household items. This brief and holey history, however, arrives as
a very Western-centric account. The visual aspects of pre-biblical and prehistoric
imagery such as the Lascaux cave paintings tell history and convey information of available materials, lifestyles,
interests, agriculture, hunting methods, and more. Human remains in China date
over 60,000 years. Remnants of these cultures can tell us a lot about these
cultures -- their artifacts, symbols, religion, food sources, and kinships.
More recently, the invention of the printing press in China predates Gutenberg's
invention. The history of rhetoric, is often Westernized and placed into a
context of importance to perhaps widely considered more advanced progressive
societies of Western origin.
My perspective of rhetoric is how it
relates to technical communication (TCOM). In TCOM, we might be explaining how
something works with step-by-step instruction, elucidating and contextualizing product
features, saving limbs or lives, or providing any number of contextualized
content. The rhetoric of TCOM requires providing exactly the right amount of
information. Too much information can lead to the audience disengaging. Too
little information can fail to communicate a message fully. In either case, the
result could be mal-use of a product or, frighteningly, loss of limbs or life.
The short answer to "What
is rhetoric?" we are taught, is the art of persuasion. In TCOM, this often
means we give all the information needed, and we produce a call to action. We
might consider our audience greater than a basic readership. We might be
designing for readers, listeners, impromptu speakers, static or interactive web
users, or multi-lingual audiences. We design content for directed and specific
audiences in order to produce a response (create agents of action).
My interest in this course and
in my higher education is to broaden my perspective of the development of TCOM
throughout the world. I would like to begin to explore where and how the field
is perceived and developing in non-U.S. and non-Western socieites.
I am struck by your discussion of the westernization of the history of rhetoric because it's, well, true. We do tend to focus on western theories of rhetoric even though there is evidence that eastern civilizations developed writing just as early, if not earlier than western civilizations. (From what I understand, recent discoveries show that Chinese writing might possibly date back to 1600 BCE). I didn't know that the invention of the printing press in China predates the Gutenberg press. I am interested to learn more about theories of rhetoric that western culture has ignored because they aren't western. What would our history of rhetoric look like if these theories were included?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the identity crises, in some ways, is a good thing. That is, constantly thinking about where a discipline belongs includes informing oneself about both similarities and differences between disciplines, colleges, etc. Now, of course, I think every is rhetoric, and technical communication falls under it because of its focus on audience. Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, indeed. Tech Comm, however, is less to persuade and more to inform, although we know that even in "objective," information providing work, there's still persuasion. If you're interested in exploring TC from a global perspective, you might start with Hall and high/low culture, and with Hofstede and the cultural dimensions, of course. How might/should composition become more tech-commie?
ReplyDeletePerhaps one might say TCOM may be to influence decision-making within a highly structured framework (re: procedural discourse).
DeleteI've got Hofstede on my list due to your recommendation. High/low context culture is one of the most interesting and exciting aspects of why I love teaching ESL!
Composition could, in some situations incorporate more "everyday TC." For example, the flipped and computerized classroom that teaches students HOW to use the software they're composing MLA-style documents on satisfies composition program goals and provides opportunity for implementing other TC "best practices" such as font choices and min/max # of bullet points as students create career documents. Integrating ePortfolios and actually teaching the technologies used to create them. We (instructors) have an expectation that composition students know HOW to create the documents we tell them to design following (e.g.) MLA styleguides, but do we research their competencies and mitigate the gaps? I suggest TC teachers have a great place in the composition classroom in this regard.
I, too, would like to see how TechComm is perceived in non-US and Western populations.
ReplyDeleteAs more of a literature person than a TechComm person, I always thought TechComm was boring. I understood that instructions to something and things like that were essential, but I could never see myself valuing that type of writing. Now that I picture your "loss of limbs or life" situation, I definitely see myself valuing TechComm more than I valued it before. Thank you for this!