What is Rhetoric? The term “Rhetoric” has meant different things in different eras. Historically, there have been three distinct conceptions of the role of rhetoric—each corresponding to a different era and communicative media: OralityIn the era of orality, before written language, rhetoric operated primarily in terms of persuasion. The job of the rhetorician involved captivating and purposing human attention, either to remember history, celebrate achievements, encourage change, or consider legal matters. LiteracyIn the era of literacy, rhetoric formally concerned itself with interpretation (what is called hermeneutics). The job of the...
What is Perspective? Perspective is a writer, speaker, knowledge worker's unique world view an interpretive lens used to evaluate a text Key Concepts: Interpretation, Persona; Point of View; Stance; Rhetorical Reasoning Perspective & Writing/Composing Perspective, in writing studies, functions on two major levels: Perspective refers to a writer's unique worldview, mirroring their individual experiences, beliefs, and values Perspective functions as an interpretive lens through which a text is evaluated, critiqued, and understood. This dual role of perspective—that of the writer and the interpreter—is vital to the writing process. As Berthoff...
In writing studies, a text or composition isn't just a collection of words. It is: A work of art: A text can be an artistic creation, a carefully curated tapestry of words and ideas that tells a story, shares knowledge, or provokes thought. A signifier: A composition serves as a conduit for thought, taking abstract ideas and packaging them into concrete signs - words, sentences, paragraphs - that can be read and understood by others. A socio-cultural-historical artifact: A text is not created in a vacuum. It is influenced by...
Commonplaces (Topoi) are "a store of common understandings, a set of shared cultural resources, by means of which rhetoricians could construct arguments . . . " (Lindquist 2020 ) an iterative, socio-historical-cultural process a rhetorical construct the shared information between the writer, speaker, knowledge worker . . . and their audience the whole kit and caboodle. Related Concepts: Cultural Literacy; Intersubjectivity; Scholarship as a Conversation; Register Commonplaces, which Aristotle and the Greeks conceptualized as Topoi, are shared understandings among people. Thus, the commonplace is a rhetorical construct: it presumes a...
Problem SpaceThe Problem Space is the problem and everything associated with the problem, including such things as the history of the problem; the stakeholders (those who benefit from the problem, those who contribute to the problem, and those who feel the problem most deeply, as pain). Solution SpaceThe Solution Space, in contrast, constitutes the world of products, services, and policies that have been produced to address a particular problem. Related Concepts: Invention; Growth Mindset; Venture Design; Design Thinking; Believing; Customer Discovery; Problem Definition Defining the problem space and writing a...
Problem Scenarios are real, imagined, and hypothesized problems and needs that particular people experience or are hypothesized to experience in a problem spacea unit of analysis in customer discovery, an empirical research method. Key Concepts: Customer Discovery Interviews; Design; Design Thinking; Lean Product Development; Mixed Research Methods; Problem Definition; Problem Scenarios; Rhetoric; Usability; Venture Design Problem Scenarios are a tool developers use to imagine how a customer or a sketch of a customer, a customer persona, interacts with a problem in a problem space. Developers create customer personas to speculate...
Illustrations are visual images that typically accompany alphabetical texts in order to explicate, satirize, or demonstrate a point. Examples of illustrations are drawings, pictures, or paintings. Key Concepts: Text & Intertextuality; Design Caution: This is an article stub. Please check back in a bit. We hope to write this page soon. Still, if you have something to say, let us know.
The Team Workspace is a writing space that is shared with teams. Teams can use a range of media. Snapchat. Facebook Messenger. Instagram When Teams come across interesting information about their project, it's useful to share that information with their team. Team members need to keep one another apprised of ongoing developments. It's not uncommon to use software applications to manage team communications. Team Research Workspaces are likely to be encrypted. Synonymous Terms: Document Management Portfolio
Hermeneutics is a topic of academic inquiry focused on interpretation understanding a textual research method used to explore a range of topics, including history, culture, style the ways culture and social networks shape interpretation the ways personality and mindset shape interpretation the effects of new technologies on interpretation ways interpretive practices reinscribe power relations between rhetors and audiences. Hermeneutics is derived from the Greek word hermeneuin, which means to interpret from Hermes, the Greek god who could convey messages across realms—the underworld, the world of mortals, and the divine realms....
Persona is a multifaceted representation of how an individual, literary character, or entity portrays their identity to the world. It’s about masks, roles, and how these shift depending on context. Persona in writing and communication is a complex construct of characteristics that define how an individual, character, or entity is presented. Specifically, it entails: Role and Archetype: Foundational character types or roles, such as 'The Hero,' 'The Mentor,' or 'The Rebel,' offer a primary lens for understanding behavior, responses, and motivations in a narrative or real-world context. Background and Experience:...
