Week 12

When I think of rhetoric I first think of the basics of rhetoric that I learned in my English 103 class. I look at is as a means of persuasion involving logos, ethos, and pathos. This would be both my understanding and my definition of the word. I believe everything we do involves rhetoric in some way. Although it may not be intentional, the clothes we wear, the way we talk, and the things we do are all persuasive to the people around us. Honestly, the only time I have heard the word rhetoric used in America is in my English classes. I'm probably just not reading enough or watching enough television to hear it but it isn't something commonly used from what I've heard. However, I do believe it is used mostly in advertising if anything. I believe it can be both positive and negative. It is always persuasive but depending on what is being persuaded effects what kind of rhetoric it is. Rhetoric could be a very useful thing when putting together my final mini-ethnography. I can use all aspects of it to persuade my viewers exactly what I want from them