What is rhetoric? (again)
Rhetoric (1)
Art and study of persuasion
Rhetoric (2)
Persuasive communication
Accomplished through signs
Sign
-a token of meaning; something that makes you think of something else
-things we can perceive with senses but see a different meaning behind them
-not only audio-visual – but in our culture tend to be predominantly a/v
Properties of signs:
(1) Resemblance
role of signs as stand-ins for the real thing
can displace reality of objects (Baudrillard)
(2) Signs become icons
a recognizable symbol of the thing it represents; summarizes it in an instantly-understandable fashion (for a particular cultural group, at least)
(3) Association
we often cannot simply associate a sign with one thing (e.g. Madonna; ethnic stereotypes, etc.)
=> Semiotics
The study of signs and sign systems
Culture
Encompassing set of identity-forming beliefs and practices
Mediated through signs and sign systems (and rhetoric)
Elitist notions – culture as a vertical construct
“cultured”
Class, refinement, taste, exclusion
vs. Diversity notions – culture as horizontal
“culture(s)”
Ethnic, national, religious, regional identity
Both dimensions shape cultural artifacts and preferences
Ethics and Aesthetics:
Ethics
Social and personal principles of right and wrong
Morals, values, virtues
vs. Aesthetics
Artistic and judgments of merit, appearance, balance
Taste, beauty, greatness
Ethics and aesthetics are culturally determined
How we judge ethics and aesthetics depends heavily on our background and position in life (Bourdieu)
Ethics and aesthetics are also culturally constitutive
Sets of preferences we possess IS our cultural identity
Popular Culture
Neither status nor demographics (Sellnow)
Everyday objects that influence people’s ordinary behaviours and beliefs
Works through subtle messages about what is (in)appropriate, (un)desirable, (ab)normal, good/bad, etc.
Mediated popular culture
Popular culture as we experience it through media
e.g. TV, music, comic books, etc.
A medium itself is culturally determined and comes with values, perceptions and traditions attached
An artifact is a token of mediated popular culture
-a sign or a series of signs that is socially grounded
-its meaning shared by an identifiable community or cultural group
Through popular culture, we identify with a variety of groups along the lines of both ethics and aesthetics
Everybody identifies with more than one cultural group simultaneously
Groups we identify with share beliefs/value systems/opinions – that sometimes conflict
We identify with traits in any particular group
Communities can be identified by their ideology
Ideology:
-a cultural group’s perceptions about the way things are, and assumptions about things ought to be
-can be both loose and highly formalized (e.g. codes of behaviour),
-apply to narrow topics (i.e. determine only certain behaviours we engage in, e.g. music we listen to) or all-encompassing (determine everything about our life)
Popular Culture Text
-something comprised of an interrelated set of signs and artifacts that contribute to the same argument/discussion
-not necessarily ‘text’ in the narrow sense – nothing to do with it being written word
-think of it as an intentional arrangement of any given set of elements to deliver some sort of message, with some sort of purpose (or a number of messages or purposes simultaneously)
Mediated popular culture text is what we will be examining in this course as a project
Popular culture often takes beliefs and assumptions for granted
Examining it fully requires a critical method that takes no assumptions as given or natural
Works covertly, on multiple levels, and often with conflicting messages
Multi-dimensional approach required
Conducting rhetorical analysis:
-revealing covert messages in mediated texts and uncovering taken-for-granted beliefs
Method:
(1) Select a text, formulate a research question
(2) Select a rhetorical perspective
(3) Examine text via description, interpretation, evaluation
(1) Selecting a text, formulating a research question
-you can start either with a text (that you consider interesting)
-or with a question (e.g. assumptions you know you want to examine in culture)
-but in the end the goal is the same in both cases:
-you need to have a text to work with and you need a specific question to answer
-what you aim for is not merely a surface question about the features of text – you have to dig deeper into what stands behind text (values, goals, ideology)
(2) Rhetorical Perspective
aka. the sections/weeks/chapters of this course
-Neo-Aristotelian
-Narrative
-Dramatistic
-Marxist
-Feminist
-Illusion of Life
-Visual Pleasure
-Media effects
(3) Examining the Text
Interpreting text, drawing implications -> answering the research question(s)
Different approaches come with different methods
You already have at least two systematic approaches that have been discussed
-(Neo-)Aristotelian
-Toulmin Model
More to come as we move through the course!
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