Kenneth Burke
American scholar, 1897-1993
'Old' (classical) Rhetoric
-persuasion
-appeals, overt evidence, ethics
-works through clear reasoning
-power of hard facts
-deliberate & strategic
vs.
New Rhetoric
-identification
-motives, identity, morals
-works partially overtly, partially unconsciously
-power of naming, soft influence
-not only deliberate – the very language we speak is loaded with arguments
Does not replace 'old' rhetoric – merely adds new dimensions to it
Burke's approach:
-terministic screens
-identification
-division
-symbolic action
-motive
-drama (Pentad)
-transgression and absolution
Terministic screens
'Languages' and mindsets that we can approach reality through
Patterns of naming, identification, division, categorization, etc.
-e.g. compare ways in which you could describe the same argument in this course
-e.g. a gunfight described in a dramatization vs. described by police reports
-e.g. relating depression through a song vs. working through it with a psychiatrist
“We must use terministic screens since we can't say anything without the use of terms” (Burke)
-terms are not merely denotative meaning of words (dictionary definitions)
-any term comes with a screen (i.e. no term or name exists by itself)
-terms within screens are related by connotation, association, ideology
-any screen directs attention to one perspective or type of activity, rather than another
-rhetoric always focuses on some things at the expense of others
-a terministic screen can be an enabler (allows certain things to be thought/said)
-...or a deterrent (prevents certain things from being said
-a terministic screen is always a choice!
-terministic screens cluster terms together through frequency and intensity
-terministic screens cluster together around key words/terms reflecting values
-'God terms' vs. 'devil terms'
-teleology: study of terministic screens and their consequences
-even scientific facts are a choice
-Knowledge-making (science, philosophy) is fundamentally rhetorical
-conduct of science inherently identifies and categorizes: powerful rhetorical act
-science and philosophy are never free from values
-constructed in language
-reliant on values and history behind terms
The rhetor
-not only an agent in an argument (i.e. the maker of the argument)
-but also the agency for 'language already in circulation'
-in other words, we use language to make arguments, but language also uses us to continue its own arguments
-speakers define language and are defined by language
-dialectic (two-way relationship; not 'meeting of opposites' in this context)
Goal of New Rhetorical criticism:
-uncover the ways through which language defines and is defined by speakers, topic, media, culture
-while keeping in mind that this process never stops
-i.e. you can not define a particular type of language, speaker, topic, media and cultural patterns 'forever' – they will always change and transform each other
Dramatism
The Pentad
Identification rhetoric works through creating compelling, relateable human dramas
A way through which transgressions of values and violations of terministic screens are resolved
1. Act
Rule-breaking behaviour occuring in the dramatization
2. Agent(s)
The rule-breaker(s) committing the act
3. Agency
Tools, means, techniques, required to accomplish the act
4. Scene
Setting – location, situation
5. Purpose
Reason why the rule-breaking behaviour is taking place
Absolution of Guilt
Rule-breaking behaviours
Guilt = difference from norm
-difference makes us uncomfortable: alienates
-mystery: sense of alienation from characters/agents
-in order to resolve this difference, the agent must be absolved of guilt
Transcendence
-breaking rules due to following a higher calling or noble cause
-'necessary evil'
Mortification
-confession of guilt and asking for forgiveness
-dealing with guilt and its consequences
Victimage
-blaming someone/something else for the rule-breaking behaviour
-circumstances and suffering justifying need to break rules
Comic fool
-agent cannot be ultimately blamed because he/she has been manipulated by others
Tragic hero
-agent's blame is ultimately absolved because he/she paid dearly for it
Terministic Screens and Dramatization
Terministic screens are (necessarily) used in telling dramas
Terministic screens can be used to grant or deny means of absolution
-e.g. famous court cases (often famous because of media dramatization)
Terministic screens can defend social status quo...
-e.g. news media, political language, academia
...or challenge it with alternative perspectives
-e.g. subcultures, protest movements, social commentary in popular media
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