Thomas 1 Precious Thomas ENC 3331 Wolcott The Method of My Own Understanding Throughout the course of my time in a rhetoric

class focused on civic engagement, Ive been exposed to writing that provided new ways to think about rhetoric. New definitions were provided and my meager understanding of the word rhetoric, and its applications in society, grew exponentially. Initially, before this class that is, I understood that rhetoric was persuasion and persuasive language; however, Id only heard the term made in reference solely to academic essays. Little did I know rhetoric encompassed much more than mere literary applications. Rhetoric is what politicians use in speeches, its what advertisers use on billboards, its what we use everyday. With this knowledge of more extensive definitions of rhetoric, came knowledge of its practical applications. This was expanded upon in my experiences with rhetorical citizenship. Rhetorical Really? What does rhetorical mean exactly? Before I go into analyzing how my experience and how my participation in rhetorical citizenship aided my understanding of rhetoric, I want to lay a solid foundation of what Ive discovered to be the meaning of rhetorical. When something is rhetorical it is a stylistic form of persuasion. In Athens, during the classical era, rhetoric was used in conjunction with philosophy, politics, and law and order. Rhetoric is of supreme importance, and reality is thus to be regarded as any set of images put into circulation by oneself and ones supporters, and by ones detractors, rivals and enemies, whom Isocrates depicts as belonging to the contemporary

Thomas 2 rhetorical establishment. (Isocrates I; 202) Here, Isocrates is defining rhetoric to be the chisel that shapes society. If society is a stone, many people (the leaders, the ones who recognize rhetoric as a societal tool or as Isocrates explains it, those belonging to the contemporary rhetorical establishment) chisel away at it to shape their own particular order of society. Conflict arises here and competition occurs and the use of rhetorical techniques is turned for use upon the citizens, to build supporters. In, Greek society, an understanding of people was advantageous in rhetorical ventures. Like mentioned before, they described rhetoric as philosophy. Rhetoric is philosophy, that is, the ability to reason, and to act. It is not an abstract and impractical activity Rhetoric/philosophy does not rely on a fixed body of knowledge but on ability to guess and conjecture at the right opportunities. These skills allow the orator or politician to say and do what is necessary in any particular situation. (Isocrates I; 203) This is rhetorically done by visually or aurally appealing to pathos, logos, or ethos. This is, however, not only one way to look at the meaning of rhetorical. It is simply the definition I take into the most consideration because it proved to be the most accurate depiction of my rhetorical citizenship experience. The aim of rhetoric has many different targets and each in a different shooting range; Ive noticed these distinctions. For example, in the professional discourse of rhetoric Jacques Derrida states that rhetorical techniques arent the main component of rhetoric but that rhetorical is almost completely dictated by conditions and situations. Rhetoric, as such, depends on conditions that are not rhetorical. In rhetoric and speaking, the same sentence may have enormous effects or have no effects at all, depending on conditions that are not verbal or rhetorical. They depend on certain situations: political situations, economical situations

Thomas 3 the libidinal situation, also. (Derrida; 15-16) Rhetorical effectiveness is also defined by emotional energy and the energy of communication in the discourse of rhetoric by George A. Kennedy. Rhetoric in the most general sense may perhaps be identified with the energy inherent in communication: the emotional energy that impels the speaker to speak, the physical energy expended in the utterance, the energy level coded in the message, and the energy experienced by the recipient in decoding the message. In theory, one might even seek to identify some quantitative unit of rhetorical energy call it rheme analogous to an erg or a volt, by which rhetorical energy could be measured. (Kennedy; 25) Throughout my experience Ive read numerous definitions of rhetoric and what is considered rhetorical and I was able to draw from my own experience to create my own understanding and definition. Rhetorical to me is defined as the process in which a collaborative effort is made to influence the thoughts, behaviors and actions of other to either maintain a current state or elicit change. Crafting the Understanding of Citizenship The next part of my journey through a rhetoric course with a focus on civic engagement was to understand citizenship. After learning of rhetoric and its many varying definitions I understood citizenship as a very important part of rhetoric. To successfully analyze the experience of my brief rhetorical citizenship venture I had understand the meaning of citizenship. Initially, I believed citizenship to be something you were born into or brought up amongst, that shaped your culture and shaped your social behaviors and habits, and installed certain preconceptions in your mind and to be apart of a country you were a citizen and that position was citizenship. However, in the discourse of rhetoric its a much more elaborate and extensive concept. Writing, rhetoric

Thomas 4 and citizenship go together almost instinctively rhetoric shapes the way you write and your writing can attribute to citizenship. In my reading of In the Name of Citizenship: The writing Classroom and the Promise of Citizenship Amy J. Wan focuses on how class room should teach writing differently, particularly in a civically engaged manner. Wan talked about how we should mold citizen writers. This is a call to action, a call to research and articulate new composition, a call to help our students compose often, compose well, and through these composings, become the citizen writers of our country, of our world, and the writers of our future. (Wan; 28) Citizenship to Amy J. Wan isnt simply populating a country and paying taxes, it is community involvement. Wan focuses how we can use writing as a form of community involvement and make that a large part of the school system. Citizens are made through escalation of the school system and Wan believes that writing instruction based in rhetoric and composition is key in creating good citizens. What are good citizens? That is a completely subjective question though it is described in Wans article as basically participatory citizens. Scholarship in the field of rhetoric and composition often promotes the idea that successful writing instruction plays a key role in the preparation of good citizens, situating the classroom as a space that can reinvigorate democratic and participatory citizenship. (Wan; 28) Citizenship requires participation, a sense of democracy, literacy, and an active public. These ideas all encompass the meaning of citizenship, and is how I understood citizenship going into my rhetorical citizenship experience. My Experience in Reference to Rhetoric and Civic Engagement I think myself to be an active member in society. I love writing and I truly appreciate and understand its value, importance and power in the discourse of rhetoric. I

Thomas 5 participate in the democratic process and feel everyone should. The only way to ensure democracy works in favor of the masses the citizens is through participation. Without participation, the same way rhetoricians take advantage of active citizens to change society, other rhetoricians with opposing goals may use the lack of participation to their advantage to change society and exclude masses. Rhetorical Citizenship is important because of this fact. Rhetoric is a weapon. I participate in civic engagement activities regularly. I have contributed actively in my community since high school, and throughout my freshman year in college. This rhetorical experience was much different, however, I approached this experience with an analytical mind. I participated in the restoration of the impoverished community of Bithlo. Id flyered for the community before in an attempt to gain awareness and get volunteers out to the community, but Id never visited the community myself, (due to being new to the area and lack of transportation). Immediately, when I arrived there at the small private school in the middle of a growing community center for the Knights Give Back Volunteer intuitive our presence was greatly appreciated. The presence of willing active bodies is a rhetorical device itself. It inspires hope and motivation, but not only that the more numbers can allow you to predict the popularity and relative success of the greater goals you want to achieve through the civic engagement. In the case of Bithlo, this is to provide a community that can later be self-sufficient and grow. It was a hot day and the work required a lot of digging and pulling and lifting but with came inner pride and every so often Id see a resident, or what I would think to be a citizen looking in curiosity. There were over 50 there and I say our presence made a statement. That statement in my opinion was more effective the meager landscaping work we did here. The Bithlo civic

Thomas 6 engagement project was one that utilized the unwritten techniques of rhetoric and that is making a statement, influencing change through actions, and through discourse in your community raise awareness, a greater focus on ethos than writing directly for change.