Contemporary Rhetorical Theory Dramatism Humanist 1 Differences Between Classical and Contemporary Rhetoric a Classical Rhetoricians believes that rhetoric i Public Communication ii Intentional iii A Prescriptive Art iv Persuasion b Contemporary Rhetoricians believe i All of the above AND ii Rhetoric involves analysis criticism of human symbolic behavior 2 Dramatism The New Rhetoric a Kenneth Burke i Wrote extensively from the mid 1930 s through the 1980 s ii Died in 1993 b A Rhetoric of Motives 1950 3 Assumptions a Humans use symbols to create social meaning b Humans are choice makers i Multitude of choices we can make in terms of language effects are if people are persuaded or c By studying human symbol use we learn about motives actions social structures and other aspects of not human behavior 4 Definitions of Rhetoric a Burke A symbolic means of inducing cooperation in beings that by nature respond to symbols i The use of language by people to form attitudes or induce actions in other people 5 Goal of Dramatism a To understand the actions of human life 6 Concepts i Burke sees the actions of human life as a drama which helps us understand their motives better 1 People are acting out their existence a Motive A driving force that motivates our actions if we can understand this driving force we can understand what kind of human beings we are b Substance The essence of human beings everything that goes into your filed of experience c Identification In order for communication to take place for us to understand and to be persuaded there needs to be an overlap of people s substances fields of experiences d Division We don t have overlap in our substance therefore we are not as persuasive as speakers e Consubstantiation Even if there is a division we can do things as speakers to identify with the audience i Use of logos pathos ethos and other rhetorical techniques 7 Process of Guilt and Redemption Guilt Purification Cycle Rebirth we re constantly going through this cycle a Order of Hierarchy Through language we create order create a class system b The Negative When we see the hierarchy and we don t like it we reject it i The rejection of our place in the hierarchy c Guilt Central motive for all symbolic activities i Constantly feeling guilty constantly trying to reduce it purge ourselves from guilt d Victimage How are you going to use symbolic activities to purge your guilt i Mortification Placing the blame on yourself you see where you went wrong ii Scapegoat Blaming someone something else e Redemption Purification You purge your guilt temporarily and create a new social order 8 The Dramatistic Pentad a A method for applying his theory toward an understanding of symbolic activities i Act What is done by a person ii Scene The context surrounding the act iii Agent The person or persons performing the act iv Agency The means used by an agent to accomplish the act v Purpose Reason for doing the act 9 Analysis of Pentad to Determine Motive a Pentad alone may not be informative b Need to analyze the Pentad to determine motive i Exploring relationship between terms ratios 1 Analyze each element act scene agent agency purpose 2 After analyzing each element you can determine the proportion of one element in terms of the other ii Featuring a root term 10 Evaluation of Dramatism a Positives i Heuristic ii Viewing communication as drama provides new insights human action b Criticisms i Scope Too Broad ii Some believe Burke s ideas are obtuse and confusing 11
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