Questions; week of February 2nd readings.

1. The conflict in Gaza has been an ongoing one for several decades now. Israel and Palestine have long fought over the Gaza strip, and now Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement out of Palestine is in control of this piece of land. On December 27th of 2009, Israel attacked Gaza, supposedly in response to the rocket fires launched into the southern border of the state by Hamas. Israel wishes to disarm the Hamas military and prevent further smuggling of arms from Gaza’s border with Egypt. Over the years, there have been a number of ceasefires. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared the last one 22 days after Israel’s attack on the Gaza strip. However, both parties continue to break the ceasefire. Does this ongoing conflict classify as an argument as laid out by Brockriede? Does it lie “within the midrange of the more-or-less continuum” or does it have too much of problematic character? Consider his sixth characteristic; do you think Israel and Palestine’ views are virtually irreconcilable? Is it pointless to even consider a potential solution anymore?

2. Creativity is within us all but is difficult to articulate at times for a range of reasons. In speech writing, it is generally limited by our knowledge, our audience and what we are not allowed to say. In Chapter 6 of Hauser’s textbook, as well as in the majority of rhetorical reasoning texts, we are advised to judge the appropriate setting and to always consider the audience. But, in doing so, how much information can you leave out or skew – what do you leave in the commonplaces? Will being politically correct limit the content or general message of your speech? What if you want to attract “passersby,” as talked about in class? Furthermore, Hauser also places much emphasis on the role of the audience and on their creativity. Subjectivity and personal interpretations are expected after viewing an abstract painting or reading a certain poem, but are they after hearing a speech? Hauser claims it is “what we do with what he [speaker – Chris Rock] invents – in our heads and hearts and actions – that is at the core of rhetorical argument.” How much creativity do you think is expected of the receiver and how much room for interpretation should there be?

3. Why do speakers often include quotes in their speeches? Why do students include them in their papers? “Just quote somebody” students often advise each other when asked how to make an essay more interesting or creative. How do you distinguish then, in Kenneth Burke’s terms, those who are realistic strategists and those are not? Does a quote or a proverb simply “fill a need”? Proverbs, phrases that describe recurrent situations, as well as slang, are certainly part of our vernacular and change from culture to culture, often voicing what we cannot put into words; it is a better way to phrase “giving a word for it.” Would you agree with Burke in classifying this as a strategy? Is he being too broad in his sociological categorization of strategies?