SCOM 381 Midterm
In the times when Greek and Roman rhetoric were being practiced, taught, and theorized, the activity of using language to entertain was considered part of rhetoric and known as
-Delectare= to delight/ entertain Movere= to persuade (to move idea) Docere= to teach
Based on Ed Black's writings and our discussion of them, good and interesting criticism should be:
-Nuanced -Complex -Surprising/Provocative -Personalized to the style of language of the particular critic
According to our class discussion, which of the following are now seen by many as being rhetorical in some sense?
-Speeches -Magazine covers -Popular music -Commercial advertising
contingency in rhetoric,
-The Sophists' idea of dissoi logoi- that there are 2 or more sides to most/all issues -Aristotle's idea that there are natural truths and social truths and that the latter are contingent and thus the proper arena for rhetoric -The idea that what is now is not the way things have to be, and that rhetoric can help to make such change possible
According to our class discussion and Birdsell & Groarke, in response to the objection that images are arbitrary and vague and ambiguous, one could respond with all of the following
-Words can also be indeterminate/vague/ambiguous -That images often work in combination of words and images to help manage ambiguity -That understanding context for an image, just like understanding context for a speech, can help to clarify its meaning
Wichelns argues that the scope of rhetoric includes that which is done by all of the following
-speakers -writers of editorials -sermon makers -pamphleteers NOT musicians
The 381 author's method focuses on Stewart's monologue as a whole first and foremost as:
A story/set of stories
Based on class discussion, the idea that criticism can become "cookie cutter" and thus of low quality is a risk of which method(s)?
ALL METHODS can be considered "cookie cutter"
A basketball team is losing at half time, and is pretty demoralized. The coach's locker room speech stresses that the team has the means/ability to turn the game around and win. Which element of the pentad is the coach trying to make dominant?
Agency
Kuypers' formal definition of rhetorical criticism is that it is "the ____________ of rhetorical acts."
Analysis and Evaluation
A speaker's organization of her/hisspeech represents which canon of rhetoric?
Arrangement
Kuypers (Chapter 3) argues that rhetorical criticism should be considered as a/an:
Art
Which of the following is not one of the terms in Burke's pentad?
Attitude
Regarding the desirability of a rhetorical critic deciding not to try to be objective in her/his analysis of a text:
Black approves of it as a whole, and Kuypers disapproves of it as a whole. Black= good criticism is not necessarily decided by objectivity Kuypers- critics should be objective
Henry and Burkholder argue that metaphors can serve to influence:
Both understanding of and actions to take on an issue
the biggest risk in doing genre criticism from the perspective of Brockriede's essay is that we are likely to produce criticism that is mainly:
Classification
Based on our class discussion from Monday:
Close textual analysis may incorporate Neo-Aristotelian topics but can also go beyond them to other insights about the text
The stage where you most formally share your criticism with others to ask for their feedback and/or evaluation, and thus most significantly engage in self-risk, is known as the ________ stage, according to Kuypers.
Countercommunication
For Brockriede, which of the following is a type of criticism that he thinks passes the test as being particularly useful and significant?
Critical evaluation
According to Zarefsky and our class discussion, the purpose of Wichelns discussing "effects" was to focus on _________ questions.
Critical, purpose of WicheIns discussing "effects" was to focus on critical questions, according to Zarefsky, empirical questions would be a measurement.
Based on Smithberger's essay, if I wanted to explore "Second Amendment" as potentially being an ideograph, and wanted to see how that term has shifted and/or stayed the same in meaning over time, I would be doing a _______ analysis.
Diachronic
According to King, the scholar most responsible for massively expanding the possible methods of rhetorical criticism beyond the Neo-Aristotelian approach was:
Edwin Black
According to class discussion, any one speech/text cannot contain components of more than 1 of Aristotle's venues/genres.
FALSE
Based on Kuypers and our discussion on Monday, we are most likely to see a researcher use the first person ("I think," "I argue," etc.) in social scientific scholarship.
FALSE
McMillan and Cheney argue that the student as consumer metaphor is bad for:
Faculty, administrators, and students, -turns learning and student into consumer and for entertainment
According to McGeough & King, some uses of identification do not also create division.
False
According to Pezzullo and today's discussion, our evaluation of NBCAM should be fully negative, as it has not led to any beneficial outcomes.
False
According to Rowland, critics can use rhetorical standards to successfully test the truthfulness/accuracy of a narrative.
False
According to our class discussion from Monday, Hill's Vietnam article was attacked for being too political and partisan in his attack on Nixon's rhetorical strategy.
False
Based on the Sourcebook reading and our discussion from Monday, the kind of rhetoric most frequently used in times of war to describe one's opponent makes use of identification by transcendence.
False
Kuypers believes that all rhetoricians agree with the idea that rhetoric must be intentional and goal/strategy-oriented to be classified as rhetoric.
False
Olson argues that the Beast's violent behavior was already present in previous tellings of the story (prior to Disney).
False
Pezzullo limits her analysis of the rhetoric of the Toxic Links Coalition to already existing, publicly circulated images as her artifacts/texts.
False
True orFalse: as per today's discussion, even though Plato and the Sophists disagree on what constitutes Truth and the Good, they would all use very similar criteria to judge/evaluate a speech.
False
the classical reason for rhetoric that concerned teaching/instruction was delectare.
False
For Bitzer, an audience consists of everyone who might be listening to/watching a speech.
False, Bitzer strictly thinks rhetorical audience is mediator of change, can have other influential audiences of change, can have other influence.
Though disagreeing substantially on many issues with Wichelns, Black agrees with Wichelns that critics should start with the presumption that audiences approach rhetorical texts with a rational lens.
False, Black divorces from WicheIns, Neo-Aristotleian focuses too much on rations sense, looses what matters in speech
Kuypers and King argue for theirdefinition of rhetoric as being something that can either be done intentionally or unintentionally.
False, Kuypers & King limit rhetoric to consciousness, intentional, goal oriented, "old rhetoric" -Burke= "new rhetoric" with subconscious and appeals
Medhurst argues that his primary purpose for engaging in rhetorical criticism is to improve our understanding of various theories of rhetoric.
False, Medhurst main purpose is less about overturning theoretical assumptions and more about public affairs, understanding and use of public affairs better is more important.
Rowland argues that rhetorical critics are well-positioned to judge truth claims as they show up in speeches.
False, Rowland argues they are not in a good position
Based on our conversation on Monday, as well as the Zarefsky reading, Wichelns' claim that rhetorical criticism is "concerned with effect" means that critics should do surveys immediately prior to and after a speech and use those results to decide what the effect was.
False, Zarefsky takes WicheIns less literal.
Brigham & Noland argue that, in general, scene-act is the best pentadic ratio to use when attempting to engage in effective humanitarian advocacy.
False, act-scene would be better
Aristotle would regard the topic "at which temperature does water boil?" as being an example of a contingent question.
False, contigent questions= more than one answer, rhetoric can show what is right now doesn't have to be. -Aristotle believed in two kinds of truths: --> Natural Truths: about the world, biologists should answer. --> Social Truths: Rhetors should answer
When Fisher terms humans as homo narrans, to highlight our storytelling nature, he means primarily that stories are individual, bounded, and efficient supporting materials for a speech, rather than structuring the approach to speech-giving as a whole.
False, homo narrans= narrative drives entire frame of speech
In Stewart's 9/20/01 monologue, he indicates that he feels a sense of both grief and despair.
False, hope because he sees the statue of liberty
Based on the Sourcebook reading and our discussion from Monday, in proposing a "new rhetoric," Burke is suggesting that we should no longer study the old rhetoric.
False, just different kinds of rhetoric for different purposes.
Based on Monday's discussion, when people in general hear the word "criticism," they are just as likely to associate it with positive connotations as with negative ones.
False, negative feelings
According to class discussion, prior to the time of the Sophists, the primary form of governing/rule in Greece was democracy.
False, still aristocratic. The sophists caused/ benefited from the move to democracy
Henry and Burkholder explain that, anytime one chooses metaphor as method/approach, the focus should be on one major metaphor, not multiple metaphors (such as those that might be part of a series).
False:
McMillan and Cheney argue that the consumer metaphor should be preferred over other alternate metaphors about education.
False:
Which kind of rhetoric is focused on the past, and concerned with the audience making a formal judgment of innocence or guilt?
Forensic/Judicial
According to Benoit (in the Kuypers book), the type of genre criticism that begins with a genre has already been established (such as by previous scholarship) and uses the characteristics of that genre to better understand a specific artifact that seems to be part of the genre is known as:
Generic Application
Lucas argues that the use of the term "necessary" in the Declaration's introduction should be understood to mean:
Inevitable/Unavoidable
Based on today'sdiscussion, the proofs are generally best understood as being related to which canon?
Invention
Based on our class discussion today, we noted how Burke's pentad:
Is different from Bitzer's rhetorical situation in that Bitzer attempts to provide an objective account of the situation the speaker is actually facing, whereas the pentad is focused on how a rhetor constructs a reality and thus how we need to understand a text from a rhetor's point of view
In class, in regard to the rhetorical situation, we discussed the idea of ____ as referring to the speaker's ability to discover (and, potentially create) the right timing/timeliness to speak effectively.
Kairos
______ tend(s) to side more with those who see criticism as something that should be objective.
Kuypers
Enos argues that, in addition to communication, rhetorical criticism is also being studied and used to study the world by scholars in __________.
Linguistics Religion English
_______ argues that his goal is to contribute to our general understanding of public affairs, and he is not concerned about trying to add to our general understanding of rhetoric.
Medhurst
In providing guidance for selecting a good topic, I warned against picking particularly famous speeches because:
Most of the paper would likely be a literature review of what many others had already said -It would be difficult to find a new critical argument to make that hasn't already been made before
Based on our class discussion, which rhetorical method(s) attempt to understand rhetoric as being fundamentally about stories?
Narrative, Pentadic, and Fantasy Theme
When we looked carefully on Monday at Wichelns' discussion of what kinds of things a critic might want to explore when looking at a piece of oratory, we identified _________ possible aspect(s) for rhetorical analysis.
Over 10
According to Rowland & Jones, the version of the American Dream narrative that most closely aligns with conservative political thought is most linked with its popularization by __________.
Reagan
McMillan and Cheney suggest that the consumer metaphor:
Reinforces individualism
the 381 author argues that Stewart is most specifically focused on the future, rather than the present or past, in this monologue.
TRUE
Medhurst argues that a central component of The Exorcist's rhetorical strategy is to:
To utilize ambiguity in order to keep multiple interpretations open and available for the audience
According to Browne, for those critics engaged in close textual analysis, form cannot be separated from content.
True
According to today's class discussion, the hegemonic ideology is one that is so powerful that it strikes people as common sense, making it difficult to oppose it.
True
According to today's discussion, Rowland & Jones' essay is an illustration of Medhurst's point from last time, in that their contribution is aimed at better understanding the American political scene more than at building/contributing to rhetorical theory.
True
According to today's discussion, one risk of engaging in ideological criticism is that a reader might feel like, in taking sides, the critic has predetermined their conclusions and may not attempt to understand the artifact in its complexity.
True
As we discussed in class, one tension identified by Zarefsky, Medhurst, Kuypers, and others is that there has been a decline in thinking about rhetorical criticism as a method, and instead people think of it more now as a mode or attitude and thus as something less procedural.
True
Based on our class discussion on Monday, the term "Neo-Aristotelian" is one that was first used by Ed Black to describe the kind of rhetorical criticism he was criticizing
True
Based on our conversation in class on Wednesday, if Black is right about his praise for the Coatesville Address, the themes/ideas/arguments it contains should still speak to us and be relevant/provocative now, in 2018.
True
Based on our discussion of situational criticism on Monday, Bitzer's terminology has become so common among rhetorical critics that, like Aristotle's artistic proofs, it doesn't need substantial, stand-alone development and justification in a critical essay.
True
Based on today's discussion, Olson anticipates the most likely objections to her argument and responds to them throughout (and especially early in) her essay.
True
Because situational analysis can often be done without significant close textual analysis (and often even prior to the speech is delivered), we argued that the best use of such analysis is for the artifact context section, rather than as a primary or stand-alone method.
True
Browne indicates that close textual analysis has been criticized for overemphasizing text and thus underemphasizing context.
True
Medhurst argues that the ultimate theme of The Exorcist is about human choice.
True
Rowland and Jones open their essay by puzzling over how Americans overwhelmingly call themselves "conservatives" but support more liberal government policies.
True
Smithberger develops an interpretive framework that includes both primary and secondary ideographs.
True
The kind of rhetorical criticism that begins with the rhetorical artifact and decides, based on the artifact, which theory/method is most appropriate, is called emic criticism, according to Kuypers.
True
True or False: According to the Rhetorical Heritage handout, the definition of rhetoric as being concerned with the available means of persuasion in a given case was crafted by Aristotle.
True
Wichelns suggests that rhetoric includes not just speeches but also texts like newspaper editorials.
True
based on our class discussion, we indicated that, despite Kuypers' proposed distinction, for our purposes we will use the terms "analysis" and "interpretation" interchangeably rather than assuming substantially different meanings between the two.
True
According to lecture, Black's work was famous for both challenging the traditional criteria used by critics and expanding the range of artifacts and methods they would explore/use.
True, Black was famous for challenging CRITERIA, ARTIFACTS, AND METHODS
Kuypers offers the term "rhetorical artifact" for the specific pieces of rhetoric that critics select in order to analyze in a systematic fashion.
True, Kuypers= rhetorical artifact should be analyzed
According to Rowland and Jones, when Americans are asked to identify as either Republican/conservative or Democrat/liberal, the majority self-identify as Republican/conservative.
True, Rowland's whole essay is about how majority identify as republican/ conservative, to discover that they support democratic/ liberal issues
Based on class discussion, for Aristotle ethos is not just about a person's credibility, but about how that person constructs their credibility within the speech itself.
True, ethos about constructiveness within text
Kuypers argue that critics engage in rhetorical criticism for the purpose(s) of:
Understanding and Appreciation
"Life is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're going to get." In this quotation from Forrest Gump, if considered as a metaphor, "box of chocolates" would serve as which component, according to Henry and Burkholder?
Vehicle
Based on Monday's discussion, we noted how:
When Birdsell & Groarke wrote the essay that we read for class (introducing a 1996 journal special issue), the idea that visuals could argue was controversial for argumentation scholars, but that it was no longer controversial when they wrote their most recent their introduction to a similar special issue in 2017
Nonartistic proofs
actual physical evidence, speaker might have to use some skills but have physical evidence e
Brockriede dismisses _______ criticism, such as "I liked that speech," because all it does is to tell us about the "state of their glands."
appreciation
Based on our class discussion, one particularly significant risk of doing generic criticism is that it ends up resembling ______, a type of criticism that Brockriede had strongly criticized.
classification, just saying what it is and not explaining is not helpful
Based on our class discussion and the readings, the step where you identify the major agon terms in a text is the ____ step.
fourth
.According to the "Rhetorical Heritage" handout, the figure(s) in ancient Greece most suspicious of rhetoric, who viewed it as false, deceptive, and/or manipulating, was/were:
plato/ socrates. -sophists=happy face to rhetoric -socrates/plato= bad face -Aristotle= in the middle
artistic proofs
proofs speaker has to create itself
Rowland indicates that all of the following are part of narrative form
setting theme characters plot
Based on our discussion in class, _______ is more likely to assist with framing a paper's context than it is to serve as the primary, stand-alone method for a piece of rhetorical criticism.
situational (Bitzer/ rhetorical situation) analysis, this method works better when paired with another method.
In our discussion of selecting a text, we noted the importance of making your essay into:
stay away from problematic approaches to doing criticism, like uncritical sales pitch for the text, and an unrelenting attack of the text.
