At least we have an understanding of Rhetoric...

Something interesting I thought I would share:

Today for my Communication Studies 301 class, I had to make a powerpoint presentation and lead a discussion on the Rhetorical Tradition. I chose this topic because ENGL 492 has introduced me to rhetoric, and I no longer think of it as a nebulous term. Everyone in my class had no clue what rhetoric was so I tried to use modern examples, like speeches and quotes from President GWBush, John Kerry, John F. Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and even Thomas Green Clemson as hands on illistrations of rhetoric. I discussed logos, ethos, and pathos while elaborating on the terms from our readings. I also talked about the three types of rhetoric as well as a brief history of rhetoric and the current movement away from traditional rhetoric and exploring non-western forms of rhetoric from other countries. In the Communication text, rhetoric is used and defined in creating a persuasive speech that uses symbols to create meanings for a particular group or audience as well as following the five cannons of rhetoric: invention, style, memory, arangement, delivery. At the end of the presentation, I ended with the Congressional speech from Legally Blonde 2, as I evaluated earlier in my blog postings and had members of the class point out examples of rhetoric and uses of the five cannons. If anyone is interested, I will bring extra copies of my powerpoint presentation to class on Thursday that might provide more information on the cannons of rhetoric.