I found the “A Proposal For An Invitation Rhetorical” and the concept of Invitational Rhetoric very interesting. The idea that many rhetorical theories have been founded in a patriarchal perspective was kind of eye opening for me because it made me realize how much work feminist scholars have to undergo in order to establish alternative and fiar values. “Attention to non-patriarchal forms of communication, feminist scholars argue, expands the scope of rhetorical theory and enhances the discipline’s ability to explain diverse communicative phenomena successfully.” (Foss, Griffin 2). Persuasion is a specific form of invitational rhetoric I found interesting because it is such an old concept that is still widely used in all sorts of forms today.
Reading this text reminded me of a “marketing” class I decided to take in high school, which is something I thought would be interesting to learn about because at the time I was interested in graphic design and psychology and thought I would be able to apply some of my skills into this class, but I was mistaken. In reality, the class was essentially a guide to becoming an antiquated salesman from the 1980s. We learned about cold calling, the importance of a handshake, and business etiquette, all of which was information that did not apply to modern business or marketing, and most importantly, was all biased information from a cis white man in his sixties. There was no intersectionality being considered and I felt like all I was learning was to persuade people into buying things they didn’t want.
Foss, Sonja K, and Cindy L Griffin. Beyond Persuasion: A Proposal for an Invitational Rhetoric. EBSCO Publishing, 1995, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03637759509376345.
Hey Keaton,
ReplyDeleteI also thought that their points about the patriarchy within rhetoric were very intriguing. I believe that it's extremely important to acknowledge the disadvantage from which feminist scholars must start. Another point I thought was interesting was the idea of self-determination in the average feminist perspective. In communication, it is completely unjust to expect feminist women to be able to 'self-determine', or "make their own decisions about how they wish to live their lives" (Foss, Griffin, 4). The truth is that a man is going to be able to choose their path much more freely than any woman. I just think it's pretty crucial that we always remember the advantages and disadvantages that different people have.