Gonzalez 1 Andres Gonzalez Jr.

ENC 3331

Defining Rhetorical Citizenship

Rhetorical citizenship is one of those tricky terms that many of us studying in the writing and communication field think we understand, but the actual meaning of the word gets lost in many preconceptions and misunderstandings. To properly understand the word you must first break it down into pieces that you can digest. Lets start with rhetoric. As defined by Sonja K. Foss in her book Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice, Rhetoric means the action humans perform when they use symbols for the purpose of communicating with one another. This definition suggests that four dimensions are of particular importance in conceptualizing rhetoric: 1) rhetoric is an action; 2) rhetoric is a symbolic action; 3) rhetoric is a human action; and 4) rhetoric functions to enable us to communicate with one another. (Foss 4) In Foss eyes, rhetoric is the tangible act of communication but is all communication rhetoric? To clear that up we look to Leith, Knowledge, it has been said, is power. And rhetoric is what gives words power. So knowledge of rhetoric equips you, as a citizen, both to exercise power and to resist it. (Leith 2) Right, so rhetoric is not just communication for Leith but a field of knowledge that can give the action of communication a certain power. There are so many definitions of rhetoric, hence why it is a loaded term, but these two definitions provide us with the two sides of the equation that most rhetoricians stand by. So, taking both of them into account, rhetoric is a field of knowledge between humans that provides us with a way to communicate with each other but also provides us with a means to control and understand that communication. To understand citizenship we must first turn to a limiting definition of an engaged citizen: Those Millenials with no college experience are civically marginalized. Their voices are unheard in city halls, the statehouse, and Washington. Failing to complete high school and at least some college level experience means that a citizen will live in a civic wilderness where needs and opinions go unheard through political and civil processes. (National Conference on Citizenship) This definition implies that to be an engaged citizen a person must have a higher education, and it also implies that citizenship means being engaged in the political sphere. I disagree with this definition in that citizenship is a much broader term and is not limited to the corner of politics. There is so much more to the human experience and communities in general than just the political scope. What we can take from this piece, though, is that to be a citizen of a community you do need to understand the context behind the community you are a part of to be able to communicate effectively with other citizens in that community. In other words, you must be knowledgeable of the rhetoric used in the community. This does not mean that you must have attended an institution such as a university but it

Gonzalez 2 does mean that you must understand what those in the community value and why. To illustrate this broader scope we can take from Matthieu who writes about a group of homeless individuals who came together and created a homelessness tour in Chicago. This performance shed light on homelessness and pierced through stigmas and stereotypes to illuminate humanity itself. (Mattheiu 45) These individuals who by the National Conference on Citizenship would be seen as marginalized and unable to practice as citizens took over Chicago for two hours a night and transformed it into a platform that enabled them to have their stories, voices and humanity explored by the Chicago community. Citizenship then is a more complex concept than those who rank citizenship, such as the National Conference on Citizenship, have in mind. Combining both rhetoric and citizenship into the term rhetorical citizenship is a problematic action when you take into account the complex nature of both words. But based on the definitions and concepts of the words that we just explored, we can piece together a working definition. Rhetorical citizenship, then, is being involved in a community and exercising control over conversation through the use of symbols and effective communication to engage fellow citizens. That being said, this is just a working definition and it must be defined each time it is used in a new sphere due to its convoluted nature. To further expand on the term rhetorical citizenship I must then draw on more examples of it.

Mapping the UCF Shuttle System

Throughout the course of a Rhetoric and Civic Engagement class a group of students and I tackled many transportation issues in the Orlando and University of Central Florida (UCF) area through mapping projects. The issue I worked on was the UCF Shuttle System and the lack of awareness about it and the lack of information about the routes themselves. The map my group created pinpointed every route and each stop on the individual routes, the rotation schedule between stops, and was left open for collaboration with the community itself. Unfortunately like Matthieu states, Public audiences are often difficult to move; clear measures of success or completion are difficult to find. (Mattheiu 31) The group of students and I most likely will not know the impact our project has on the UCF community and our map will most likely never be finished, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. This project is an example of rhetorical citizenship because it identifies a problem in the community and engages other citizens with a solution grounded in the context of UCF transportation. Rhetorical citizenship can then also include rhetoric created in a non-tangible space such as the internet and a community than you may not see face-to-face.

Candle Light Vigil

Matthieu also brings up another important point about rhetoric, Writing alone is insufficient to change the world but in a context of human organizing and community building, writing helps bring about and give voice to many changes.(Matthieu 49) The past two years my fraternity, Delta Lambda Phi, has hosted an event called the Candle Light Vigil that brings awareness to the high level of suicide and bullying of LGBTQ+ students in our community and nationwide. This semester there were several speakers who spoke about the bullying and hard times they have had to face and the moments when many of them felt like it was too much and have taken the step to end their lives. They spoke about how

Gonzalez 3 they went about making the decision, contemplating which way to end their lives and all of the thoughts and the frame of mind that they were trapped in. They also spoke about how much of this bullying and prejudice is still there and that those in our (the LGBTQ+) community are faced with it daily. This event was about bringing this community together with the broader UCF community, bringing awareness to the problem and what each person could do to help. This event helped to build and continues to build a sense of inclusiveness and community every time it is held. The rhetoric and communication in the speeches did not do the whole job but, like Matthieu stated, it brought about the voices and movements of change in the people who witnessed them. That is what it means to be a rhetorical citizen: each person who participated in the communication that night was a rhetorical citizen of the community with stories, actions, and a voice that resonated in all of those who were in attendance.

What Makes You a Rhetorical Citizen?

Earlier we defined rhetorical citizenship as being involved in a community and exercising control over conversation through the use of symbols and effective communication to engage fellow citizens. So what makes you a rhetorical citizen of a community? It starts with identifying yourself with the community but it goes further than that. To be a citizen you must have an ongoing participation in the community. The rhetorical citizen must know the context behind a community enabling them to be a part of the ongoing conversation within it. Like we did with the word rhetorical citizenship earlier, a rhetorical citizen must be able to break down a communitys values, background and the citizens own message into digestible pieces so that they can have a meaningful contribution to the ongoing conversation in the community. Once you can do that, you will be able to pull all those pieces together and call yourself a rhetorical citizen.

Gonzalez 4 Works Cited

"2011 Florida Civic Health Index: The Next Generation." National Conference on Citizenship, 17 2012. Web. 21 Nov 2012. <http://ncoc.net/FLCHI2011>. Leith, Sam. Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric From Aristotle to Obama. New York: Basic Books, 2012. Print. Matthieu, Paula. Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in English Composition. Heinemann, 2005. | Print. Foss, Sonja K. Rhetorical Criticism: Exploration and Practice. 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland, 1996. Print.