The Five Canons

1. The Five Canons Week 1 ENG 1005: Writing about Social Justice

2. Brief History of Rhetoric (428-328)/(469-339)Plato/Socrates: Plato’s animosity against rhetoric (and sophists) came from their inflated claims to teach virtue and their reliance on appearance as opposed to truth. Incidentally, his teacher (Socrates) was killed after the sophists efforts. (384-322) Aristotle: Plato’s student; persuasion by all available means. Favored dialectic and logic to persuade. Could be called the father of “rhetoric.” (105-43) Cicero: the orator/rhetor must learn about the specifics of his/her case (hypothesis) as well as the general questions from which they derive (theses.) The ideal orator is well-versed in all subjects. Hence the birth of liberal arts education.

3. Inventio The Latin term for invention or discovery Each speech an orator took on presented a unique challenge A person might have a knack for drawing on the best argument to fit the occasion, but in lieu of this, the rhetor could tap a system designed to fit the best argument to the cause Within this system were two kinds of arguments: the non-artistic (think of legal precedent) and the artistic or logos, ethos, and pathos.

4. Logos, Pathos, Ethos • Logos: rational appeal • Example: In any non-violent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustice is alive; negotiation; self-purification; direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. • Pathos: emotional appeal • Example: imagine if the rape victim in India were your daughter, sister, girlfriend, mother. Stop the violence. • Ethos: ethical appeal derived from character of speaker • Example: I am speaking to you today not as Secretary of State, but as a mother who has a daughter and is heartbroken at the atrocity that occurred on that bus on December 13, 2012.

5. The Topics • Not every appeal fit the occasion, so Aristotle came up with the topics • Special topics: used in special kinds of discourses • Common topics: used for virtually any occasion • Four common topics: • More and less (degree) • Possible/impossible • Past fact/future fact • Greatness/smallness (size)

6. Why do writers not know what to write? The chief reason new/inexperienced writers don’t know how to write, is because they don’t know what they want to say. This is what inventio was concerned with: turning up or generating ideas about what to say/write.

7. Dispositio • Can be translated as disposition, arrangement or organization • Once ideas are discovered, the rhetor must arrange them • There are six parts to arrangement (based on Latin rhetoric) • The introduction (exordium) • Statement of case under discussion (narratio) • Outline of points or steps in argument (divisio) • Proof of the case (confirmatio) • Refutation of the opposing arguments (confutatio) • Conclusion (peroratio)

8. In-class exercise I:Deconstructing a Speech • Watch this video: death row inmates. • Identify who you think the audience is? • Can you identify the main thesis or point of the speech? • How did the speaker introduce the topic (introduction/exordium)? • Identify the statement of case under discussion (narratio)? • Can you outline the points or steps in the argument (divisio)? • What proof of the case was offered (confirmatio)? • Was there refutation of the opposing arguments (confutatio)? • How did the speaker conclude (peroratio)?

9. In-class exercise I:Deconstructing a Speech In groups, find a video online from a reputable source concerning an issue of social justice. Watch the video and deconstruct it rhetorically, making notes on the speakers’ use of logos, ethos, pathos and kairos. Be prepared to share clips from the video and your group reflections with the class. Homework: Download the assignment sheet (on the website) and complete the group assignment. Each student must turn in a copy of the completed assignment to TurnitIn.