ENGL 1213: Honors Composition Literacy Task II: Challenging the Perception of Women in Early Rhetoric1

Early Greek and Roman rhetoric is oftentimes criticized for its erasure of women and predilection toward property owning aristocratic men. And this criticism is rightly directed. Our modern word hysteria derives from the Greek word for uterus, thus coding the psychological state of hysteria as a female problem. Additionally, the goal of early Roman rhetoric, promulgated by Quintilian, is a good man speaking well with an intentional use of the masculine pronoun. Luckily, recent work by scholars such as Cheryl Glen and Susan Jarratt have pushed for more exploration and validation of the work of marginalized female ancient Greek voices (e.g., Aspasia and Diotima) and we are slowly unearthing and translating found fragments of the writing of the 5th century BCE poet Sappho. Despite this important work of recovery, some still condemn classical rhetoric as an object of study because of its blatant sexism. Literacy Task III invites you to enter into this critical conversation regarding classical rhetoric.

How to get started First, youll need to point to specific passages in the texts we have looked at together as well as pull from our group discussion to discuss the level of sexism you find in these early texts. You may choose to quote directly from the text or summarize key passages that provide helpful evidence. Second, youll need to discuss whether we (as an academic community of scholars) should (dis)regard these texts and concepts? In other words, should we dismiss the writings of Plato and others because of the collective strand of sexism, or is there a way to read and think hard about these texts despite their misogyny?

Questions to Guide your Thinking/Writing These questions are to be used as basic guidelines and not a check list to run through in your paper.

It is worth noting that these texts are equally condemning to slaves (male or female) as well as aliens foreigners that may have a unique religion or skin color. However, for our discussion I would like to focus on the misogynist elements.

What are the potential dangers of eliding the voices of any peoples group in history? What are the potential dangers of eliding/erasing the voices of specifically women in history? Can we excuse these ancient rhetors for bigotry because the culture in which these ancient rhetors were writing was itself bigoted? In other words, can we say these rhetors were simply a product of their culture and should not be so heavily criticized? Scholars have debated on the specific verb to be used regarding the disappearance of womens voices in classical rhetoric. Some use the verb erase, some use silenced, some prefer forgotten. Think through how these verbs carry different rhetorical weight.

Information about the audience youre addressing In thinking about the audience you are addressing in Task II, it will help to think of yourself as joining the conversation about issues of sexism in classical rhetoric. You should assume that members of your audience are familiar with the various pieces youve read over the past few weeks, but that they havent read these articles recently. To help them, youll need to make sure that you explain your ideas clearly, that you define specialized terms, and that you quote from these texts to help illuminate specific points you wish to make.

As you draft, revise, and refine the essay for Task II, please keep in mind that you are working to get a great deal of analytic depth in your paper. You want a rich, deep, focused discussion of how classical rhetorical texts treat females than one that barely skims the surface.

Key Resources Platos Gorgias Isocratess Antidosis Quintilians Institutes of Oratory Aristotles On Rhetoric Glenns sex, lies, and manuscript: Refiguring Aspasia in the History of Rhetoric Questions and comments well raise and explore during our class discussions Your classmates and professor

Guidelines for Evaluation In crafting successive drafts of the essay for Task III, focus on the following. These are the elements of the paper I focus on as I evaluate your final draft. Developing a focused claim (thesis) and articulating it clearly to your audience Providing a richly detailed description about how ancient texts silenced the women Aiming for an in-depth analysis of the repercussions of erasing the voice of women in classical texts.

Using the readings to effectively to anchor your terms, discussion, and analysis Effectively incorporating information from other readings weve covered, especially if they can help make your analysis and argument more insightful. Developing an effective organizational plan for your paper Using language and rhetorical strategies that are appropriate for your audience Quoting or paraphrasing from and citing sources effectively using MLA or APA style

Basic Guidelines Literacy Task II needs to present a well-developed and effectively-organized analytic essay of 1700 to 2400 words (double spaced). Your paper will also need to include a works cited (if using MLA) or references (if using APA) list. Double-space the text and use a readable 12 point font (e.g., Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond) and one inch margins at top, bottom, and sides. You dont need to include a title page; instead, double space your name, the name of the course, the instructors name, the assignment, and the due date in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Include your name and the page number as a header in the upper right-hand corner of all the other pages. You will upload your paper to the appropriate D2L dropbox.

Timeline for Literacy Task II Task III assigned. Rough draft due Peer review session Final draft due Good luck! Im happy to help if you need some additional assistance at any stage of this paper. My office hours are XX-XX in 312 Gittinger. You can reach me as well via email at rifenburg@ou.edu. If youd like to drop by my office to toss around some ideas, please feel free to do so.