Literacy in Composition Studies Dec 2017 RSS Open Access

Toward a Theory and Pedagogy of Rhetorical Vulnerability

David Riche University of Denver

Abstract

This article responds to the proliferation of fake news in today’s media by considering how a rhetorical theory and pedagogy more deeply grounded in a rethinking of vulnerability might help us as rhetoricians and writing scholars to address fake news as more than just dis-informative rhetoric. In the first part, I bring together scholarship from within and outside of rhetoric and writing studies in order to frame vulnerability as a fundamental component of all rhetorical encounters. In the second part, I propose the use of trolling rhetoric as an object of analysis that may help students better understand how deceptive and disruptive genres of discourse (including, but not limited to, fake news) may, in the process of trying to exploit our rhetorical vulnerability, actually call attention to this crucial aspect of rhetorical encounters.

Journal
Literacy in Composition Studies
Published
2017-12-04
DOI
10.21623/1.5.2.6
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Gold
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Kelley et al. (2020)
    Researching People who (Probably) Hate You: When Practicing “Good” Ethics Means…
    Computers and Composition
  2. Ehrenfeld et al. (2019)
    Online Public Spheres in the Era of Fake News: Implications for the Composition…
    Computers and Composition
  3. Hesse (2019)
    Journals in Composition Studies, Thirty-Five Years After
    College English

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