This week, it’s mostly about discussing the readings.
Plato and Aristotle aren’t exactly the most accessible authors to a modern audience, but they are some of the most influential in rhetorical studies. As is usual for the group discussions, you have the opportunity to talk about the readings in your group: to make sure you have a sense of what’s being said and to really work through the texts and videos. As is explained on the page for Discussion Groups and Participation Notebooks, this is mostly the purpose of meeting regularly with your group. In addition to getting the chance to actually talk with folks, it also provides some additional material for you to elaborate further on in the dialectical journal for the week. As a reminder, group discussions should last around an hour (give or take).
You can find your groups here (just in case you forget):
11:00 Section
3:30 Section
Talk about the Material
We’re covering a fair amount this week, and I’m pretty sure it will be new to most of you. I’ve included both the primary sources (Plato and Aristotle’s texts) and some secondary sources (videos and other explanation) to help unpack some of what the writings are all about.
Here are also a few optional starter questions if you’re having trouble deciding on something to discuss in your groups or to talk about in the dialectical journals. Again, you don’t have to talk about these questions, so if you’d rather discuss something else about the course content, please do! I am listing these here just in case you would like some suggestions.
- Who do you align with most of the “Big 3″ ancient Greek rhetoricians? Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle?
- What concepts do you find appealing in each of these thinkers’ approaches to rhetoric (and/or philosophy and/or cosmology)?
- Which concepts do you find problematic in each of these thinkers’ approaches to rhetoric (and/or philosophy and/or cosmology)?
- Do any of their definitions of rhetoric resonate with you? Why?
- Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle each have specific ideas about human nature and human communication. Which of those ideas do you see reflected in modern approaches? Which approaches?
Discuss Concept Paper Ideas and Proposal
As it says on the schedule, you should have a completed Concept Paper Proposal in your Individual Google Drive class folders (either in the same document as your Participation Notebook or in a separate file) by the end of the day on Sunday. Take some time in your groups to talk about where you’re at with the Concept Paper and what questions or concerns you have about it or the proposal. This is a great opportunity to brainstorm and think about possible directions to go and examples to include.
Follow Up from Last Week
With last week being the first week of class, there are still a few loose ends that might need to be tied up.
That could mean questions that went unanswered, thoughts in the Dialectical Journal that didn’t get addressed, or coming up with a group name. Just make sure that everyone’s on the same page about everything and feeling good as the course picks up more steam.
