Committee Chair

Jones, Rebecca E.

Committee Member

Prevost, Verbie; Ingraham, Lauren

Department

Dept. of English

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This thesis argues that the range of rhetorical options presented to first-year composition students, primarily in textbooks and writing handbooks, is unnecessarily limited. Given the abundance and variety of discursive encounters students are likely to have, not only in college but especially as members of a highly diverse society, it is imperative that they be exposed to more than just the standard, thesis-driven, antagonistic model of discourse. To that end, this thesis discusses three cooperative rhetorical alternatives—Rogerian rhetoric, antilogic, and invitational listening—that can serve as a complement to the traditional approach. It also suggests ways that composition teachers might apply these approaches in the classroom.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Dr. Rebecca Jones for agreeing to work with me on this thesis, for helping me think it through, for offering both encouragement and critique, and for introducing me, as a first-year graduate student, to many of the theorists whose work would inform a large part of the project. Whatever merit it has, I share the credit with her. Thank you to Dr. Lauren Ingraham for offering helpful feedback on the chapter about Rogerian rhetoric and for letting me write that chapter as part of an essay-writing class I took from her in my second-to-last semester. Thank you to Dr. Verbie Prevost, as well as Dr. Ingraham, for agreeing to serve on my committee. And thank you to Dr. Susan North, who, though not directly involved with my thesis, nevertheless deserves a formal expression of my gratitude for the consistent support she has provided throughout my career at UTC.

Degree

M. A.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts.

Date

5-2014

Subject

Composition (Language arts) -- Study and teaching; Rhetoric -- Study and teaching; Persuasion (Rhetoric)

Keyword

Cooperative rhetoric; Antilogic; Rogerian rhetoric; Invitational rhetoric; Listening

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

vi, 68 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

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