Archive | December 2018

Letter to the Editor Cecelia (Final)

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Dear Mr. Eschrich,

It is prominent that this work is from an expert of this type of writing (“Brian”). The work, The History and Theory of Rhetoric, is greatly appreciated and shows all the hard work put forth in its creation. The information presented by The History and Theory of Rhetoric does a phenomenal job of discussing the Western tradition of rhetoric and how rhetoric can be defined based on those Western principles. The work that is available is valuable beyond measure. In order to add to this run of book titles, another textbook needs to be incorporated in order to include other cultures and their rhetoric outside of the Western tradition. An entire new textbook would appear to work best given that The History and Theory of Rhetoric is already extensive on its coverage of the Western tradition. It would be too much of a stretch to add other cultures into this existing title. A standalone textbook for other cultures would not only provide enough leeway to expand on new cultures, but it would stop The History and Theory of Rhetoric from having to be condensed unnecessarily. It is important that all cultures being discussed are represented as they should be and to the extent they should be.

When studying rhetoric, it is important to learn not only the valuable themes of Western rhetoric, but it is also critical to establish the non-Western culture within the definition of rhetoric. This is a major point of discussion within the realm of academia (Lipson and Binkley 1-2; Strandjord 281). This addition can be difficult to implement, of course, due to restraints such as time available to instruct students, but the attempt can be made to include other cultures (Strandjord 281-282). When only using Western culture, the definition and ways of rhetoric tend to be skewed towards the Western way of rhetoric and make it appear as the only means (Lipson and Binkley 2-3). Including non-Western conventions of rhetorical traditions will also help to close holes that the Western tradition alone cannot help but leave due to not having other cultures included (Lipson and Binkley 2). The fact that these other cultures have such riveting information and accomplishments within themselves needs to be included (Lipson and Binkley 3). For instance, non-Greek cultures had been forming their own practices a while before the Greeks and this formation points at their knowledge of rhetoric because it was necessary to develop as they did (Lipson and Binkley 3).

One of the cultures that is an example that should be included in the conversation is the Irish because even though they are close in proximity to those cultures of the Western tradition they are nowhere near them in their practice of rhetoric. It has been a semester of discovery to uncover the ways of the Irish and their rhetoric and show their place in the conversation. The differences that Ireland exhibits can be seen for instance by knowing that Ireland was never taken over by the Romans like England was and Ireland developed independent of what was happening in Rome (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233). Also, another point is that even though Christianity arrived in Ireland it changed to fit them instead of Ireland having to change (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233-234). Ireland’s own religion was able to be mesh with Christianity and its practices (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 234). It is major that Ireland was separate and missed periods of turmoil that inflicted Europe in the 400s to 800s and was able to still grow while Europe could not (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233-234). The Irish see themselves as not having to pass this bump in history and did not have to endure that gap (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 234). Those of Ireland hold their histories dear for this reason (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 234). Rhetoric is thought to have long lived in Ireland and that is supported by the god the Irish attributed to rhetoric known as Ogma (Johnson-Sheehan 267).

Although, there are some similarities within the Irish practices to those of Western cultures such as strength of the spoken word or that the Druids of Ireland were similar to the Sophists of Greece by both being rhetors (Johnson-Sheehan 267; Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233,242). The Irish were different in many ways as stated before in their history. Some other differences their rhetoric shows are that persuasion is not as major of a goal to the Irish as it is to Western rhetoric (Johnson-Sheehan 272-273). Also, the Irish felt that a lot of the strength that came from spoken word related to magic (Johnson-Sheehan 267; Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 241). Irish rhetoric has principles of loyalty, generosity, courage, and beauty (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 237-238, 241; Johnson-Sheehan 273). The Irish restate points until they reach the status of main beliefs and given that the Irish depended on spoken word, in turn rhetoric was utilized as a means of establishing tradition and if establishment was hard to create hostility could be utilized to make it happen (Johnson-Sheehan 267, 272-273; Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 237-238,241). Ireland gives a new picture outside of that of Aristotle or Plato who are still unarguably important to the traditions of rhetoric, but they are not all of what rhetoric is (Johnson-Sheehan 268; Class, Herrick). The differences that Irish rhetoric establish give the culture its own leg to stand on in the conversation of rhetoric.

Given that Ireland and the rhetoric of its culture prove worthy and that it is unique, this gives reason to why a new textbook should be offered. That new textbook can provide not only a section for Ireland but other sections for cultures that stand out from the Western tradition of rhetoric. This could be China or Egypt, for example (Lipson and Binkley 1-24; Johnson-Sheehan v-vi)

In a broader sense of the issue at hand with defining rhetoric, not only cultures have been missed in the discussion of rhetoric (Lipson and Binkley 2). Some other topics that could be future subjects to discuss within textbooks include race or gender and status within society (Lipson and Binkley 2). The issue of rhetoric can be thought of in this broader sense, and by using the valuable work The History and Theory of Rhetoric has presented the definition of rhetoric could be widened and expanded even further. This will be an ongoing process in terms of time because the world and the cultures it includes will always be adapting and present more rhetoric as it does so. With works like The History and Theory of Rhetoric, they lay a phenomenal base and give a jumping off point for future textbooks for students to come. The culture of Ireland is a piece of the puzzle to be included within the much bigger picture.

Thank you for your time and valuable effort again,

Cecelia Ivey

Bibliography

“7+ Academic Proposal Templates – Word, PDF.” Template.net. Template.net, 2018, www.template.net. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018.

Bottigheimer, Karl S. Ireland and the Irish. Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 1-112.

“Brian Eschrich.” Routledge Taylor& Francis Group. Taylor & Francis Group, 2018, www.routledge.com/contacts/14239. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.

Herrick, James A. The History and Theory of Rhetoric. New York, Routledge, 2018, pp. 134-162.

Image on page 155 of Joyce.

Jauch, Martina. “Sample Acamedic Proposals from the Purdue OWL.” Template.net. Template.net, 2018, www.template.net. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018.pdf.

Johnson-Sheehan, Richard. “11 Orality, Magic, and Myth in Ancient Irish Rhetoric.” Ancient Non-Greek Rhetorics, Edited by Carol S. Lipson and Roberta A. Binkley, Parlor Press LLC, 2009, pp. v-vi, 267-292, Accessed 8 Sept. 2018.

Johnson-Sheehan, Richard, and Paul Lynch. “Rhetoric of Myth, Magic, and Conversion: A Prolegomena to Ancient Irish Rhetoric.” Rhetoric Review, vol. 26, no. 3, 2007, pp. 233-252. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20176789?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. Accessed 7 Sept. 2018.

Joyce, P W. A Social History of Ancient Ireland, vol. 1, Longmans, Green, And Co., 1903.

Lipson, Carol S., and Roberta A. Binkley, editors. Introduction. Rhetoric Before and Beyond The Greeks. State University of New York Press, 2004, pp. 1-24.pdf.

O’Faolain, Sean. The Irish A Character Study. The Devin-Adair Company, 1949, pp. i-102.

Procter, Margaret. “The Academic Proposal.” University of Toronto Writing Advice. University of Toronto, http://advice.writing.utoronto.ca. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018.

“Research Proposal Template.” Template.net. Template.net, 2018, www.template.net. Accessed 3 Dec. 2018.pdf.

Strandjord, Erika Claire. “Making, not Curating, the Rhetorical Tradition: Ways through and beyond the Canon.” Rhetoric Review, vol.35, no. 4, 2016, pp. 281-293.pdf.

Irish Presentation

Dec4

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The culture that I have studied this semester is Ireland. Although, a person might think that Ireland due to how close it was to the countries of the Western tradition would follow the same mold, it is rather different.

It does hold a few similarities to the Western tradition such as that the Druids of Irish practices are like the Sophists of Western practices (Johnson-Sheehan 267) (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233,242). Also, both practices place strength in the spoken word (Class) (Johnson-Sheehan 267). The importance that gives Ireland its own room in the conversation of rhetoric is the differences. For instance, the Irish believed magic held a lot of the strength that came with spoken word (Johnson-Sheehan 267)(Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 241). Also, persuasion is not a huge goal for Irish rhetoric as it is for Western rhetoric (Johnson-Sheehan 272-273). I believe this is an extremely crucial point to show their differences because in class it was discussed at length how important persuasion was to the Western tradition for such practices like religion (Class, Herrick 134-162). When cultures and the rhetoric they practice differ in their major goals and take aways, I believe that is shows that they need to be separated and both looked at.

When looking at Ireland and its history and culture, it can be seen why Irish rhetoric is the way it is and so vastly different from that of the Western practices. Here is one major point to why Ireland is different and its culture and history are so unique from that of the Western tradition. The Irish were not disturbed as a culture by the period in the 400s to 900s commonly referred to as the Dark Ages that caused turmoil in Europe (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 233-234).

The best way I can think of to tell the tale of Ireland is to talk in the order of the people that came and left Ireland as time went along. The first people were in Ireland in 6800 BCE (Bottigheimer 7). Also, Ireland has an extremely sectioned lay out due to streaming water and mountains, not getting around those very easily (Bottigheimer 2-5). After the original people were there, came the Celts in the 5^th onto the 6^th centuries (Bottigheimer 9-10)(Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 234-235). They brought with them Druidism, which is their religion that encompassed tales, music, magic, and poetry (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 235). Records of these happenings are far and few between but clear emphasis is placed on these categories of speech and rhetoric (Johnson-Sheehan and Lynch 235). This relates right into hoe Irish rhetoric emphasizes poetry and magic (Johnson-Sheehan 267). This is another very important connection. It shows how history and culture influence rhetorical practices.

The next to enter into Ireland were the Vikings who pillaged the monasteries in Ireland for their fortune (Bottigheimer 48-50). And this, BAM, opens the door for more important connections! Due to the attack, these violent happenings on the monasteries were added to the Irish literature realm by clergy who were capable of doing so (Bottigheimer 49). The Vikings did eventually simmer down, alright (Bottigheimer 50). They even supplied a merchant part of life to the Irish (Bottigheimer 50). Where the Vikings placed their stakes is where many of Ireland’s port cities are in the present day (Bottigheimer 50).

Next after the Vikings were the Normans, who grabbed Ireland when it was in hierarchal turmoil (Bottigheimer 53). It is quite the tale. An Irish ruler called Dermot asked for the aid of the English and they declined, but the Normans were all for it and one of them took over when Dermot passed away (Bottigheimer 53-54). Now the English who were too cool for school at first are shaking in their boots over this Norman power, so the two formed a connection which was okay with those of Ireland who were hoping for a check of Norman power (Bottigheimer 54-56). An important point arises from this crazy story and it is that these Norman and English happenings show a different scene then those who have entered Ireland previously (Bottigheimer 55-56). The Normans and English were capable of getting a stronger grip on Ireland, but when fighting for power kept happening and the English let holdings of the Irish get taken, the Irish were not as thrilled with the English (Bottigheimer 55-56). The power of the English started to tumble in the 1200s (Bottigheimer 58). But through all these invasions because Ireland was such a political mash-up and every part of Ireland was unique these invaders failed (Bottigheimer 58).

After looking at the people that came to Ireland, religion is another major piece of Irish history and culture. Ireland shows another one of its major differences that changed the course of the culture. Christianity came to England with the Romans and left right with them, but Ireland does not have that same scene (Bottigheimer 17-18). To keep Christianity within Ireland, was surprisingly after being held capture earlier there, was Saint Patrick (Bottigheimer 18). He brought the religion around the 5^th century and he did so with more of a Mediterranean versus Roman way about it (Bottigheimer 18). It is true that pagan ways did still remain, and Saint Patrick only set influence in the north, so not a complete reversal (Bottigheimer 19). Bishops would later control their own pieces of Ireland and monasteries would flourish that would leave their evidence (Bottigheimer 20-22). Monasteries were compatible with Ireland and able to stay and still remind us of their presence due the rural life of Ireland (Bottigheimer 20-22). These monasteries were home to art and learning in Ireland (Bottigheimer 25-30).

Another major topic to discuss is that of culture and more of how the Irish are as people. All of these things tie together and it makes sense that rhetoric is weaved in a well. The Irish people have curiosity in romantics and imagination and this imagination is built more with Christianity which does not remove the imagination (O’ Faolain 3-4, 9-10). The Irish people were hunters and fishers and were kind-hearted enough to take in travelers on their journeys (Joyce 27, 29). There was a tribal system in Ireland and there was a head king although checks and balances were in place (Joyce 29). To go along with the tribes and the rulers were the military personnel (Joyce 83, 91). In Ireland public get togethers would meet in the rural world they lived in and play and have fun and show their fun colors they wore (Joyce 30-31). Outside of this setting the Irish were sometimes violent towards one another (Joyce 31). Another topic to present is education and the Irish learned in the vast outdoors and taught about occupations as well as art (Joyce 32-34). The art of the Irish encompassed illumination on book pages, stone craft, building, and metal work (Joyce 544).

These points presented, and stories told show the uniqueness of Ireland. This brings me to my point of what I think the next step should be for the textbook should be. I believe that even though the original textbook is indispensable and definitely should be studied by those that are students and practitioners of rhetoric, there needs to be a new one added to the collection. The book already goes deeply into the Western rhetoric and it would be too much shrinking too add new cultures such as Ireland to the title. This point of learning more than the Western side of the tradition is an ongoing conversation in the academic world (Lipson 1)(Strandjord 281). It is understatement to say that tackling this challenge is hard because there is only so much time with pupils, but change can be accomplished (Strandjord 281-282 ). Look at our course as we learn all of these different traditions. With the addition of all of these cultures to our book of knowledge, we are all working to move further into the study of rhetoric.

Show examples of illuminated manuscripts.

BIBLIOGRAPHY