Cameron 1

Brittni Cameron

Professor Wolcott

ENC 3331

11-19-12

Rhetorical Citizenship: To be Civically Engaged

The terms rhetorical and citizenship both sum up civic

engagement. In the book “Rhetoric in Civic Life”, one popular

rhetorician, Aristotle, defines rhetoric as “try both to test and uphold an

argument and to defend themselves and attack” (Aristotle). Even though

he has several definitions for this word, this one is the most relatable.

Leith, another rhetorician, took Aristotle’s perspective into

consideration, but he also had a very different perspective on the

definition of rhetoric. It appears that Leiths definition is a tad more

subtle “the attempt by one human being to influence another in words”

(Leith). Whereas, referencing the word “attack” portrays that Aristotle’s

viewpoint is much more complicated compared to his. In addition,

Aristotle describes rhetoric as “tecne”, while Leith uses the word

attempt, which resembles an unguarded nature.

Cameron 2

Furthermore, citizenship, a term that coincides with rhetoric has

been defined in the article “In the Name of Citizenship: The Writing

Classroom and the Promise of Citizenship” by Amy Wan. One of the

major emphasizes in the text is that “successful writing instruction plays

a key role in the preparation of good citizens” (Wan 28). Ideally,

rhetoric is the teaching tool to practice citizenship. “Successful”

citizenship may not exist without the teaching of rhetoric. In her

teaching, she has three requirement that establish citizenship: “(1) the

infinite flexibility that comes from shifting definitions of citizenship; (2)

the pervasive belief that citizenship is an achievable status by

individuals who have the will for it; and (3) the implicit understanding

that equality and social mobility are synonymous with and can be

achieved through citizenship” (Wan 29-30). Although these can be used

as teaching tools, citizenship is ultimately defied by rhetoric.

Much of Mathieu’s text “Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in

English Composition” portrays the educational aspect of rhetoric. She

talks about other writers such as Weisser, whose opinion is that several

professors try to make their writing more appealing by calling it

Cameron 3

“public.” However, at first glance, one might wonder what the word

“public” is actually referencing, or what is it that makes that word so

appealing. Therefore, it complicates what is considered “public”; the

confusion separates itself from the consequences of trying to make it

more attractive to its writers. Also in her text, she includes how college

freshmen consider the “payoff of a course relies purely in the grade”

(Mathieu). Students need to interact with the educational experience and

focus more on the skills they acquire from a rhetoric class. The article

places great emphasis on the fact that to be a successful public writer

you must also know topics of history and politics because that is the only

way you’re going to be able to write for an audience.

An example Mathieu uses are the reference of C.; the activist

focuses on the education aspect, but also the significance of

participation. His position as a public writer is admirable because he

uses his job as tool to evoke emotion. His job as a citizen is to be

thought provoking through rhetoric. The activist mentions how he uses

“Jesus Christ Froze to Death” and in reference to elders “how do you

like them, boiled, friend? (Mathieu), which essentially grabs the

Cameron 4

audience’s attention. Those examples help you become a better citizen

for the long haul

Diehl also focuses on the participation aspect of rhetorical

citizenship. Diehl’s article “is an example of the mapping project our

class created. Their program, Grassroots focuses on writing and mapping

as one. One reference is “being able to give a viewpoint a voice”

(Diehl). Mapping has become such a motivational tool in the sense that

for the exercise and walking map, it is crucial for a healthy lifestyle. By

combining the physical aspects of the world into the rhetoric sense it

makes room for an ideal citizen. Therefore, being educated in a tool such

as Grassroots enables you to be able to participate in the real world

through the use of rhetoric.

Throughout my twenty one years of life, I have a few citizenship

experiences that stand out the most. In high school, my biggest

contribution to civic engagement was joining the Sea Club. It was a club

whose efforts were to help better the environment by keeping it clean. In

doing so, the club would meet outside of school to clean up trash on the

beach and enact awareness through the power of voice. The club was

Cameron 5

effective in such a way that grabbed the attention of our administrators.

My teacher in charge of Sea Club ended up using rhetoric to implement

a school wide recycling program. That was the first year any class had

gotten the opportunity to do take on such a significant role in the

community. This goal was achieved through rhetorical citizenship. It

was our duty as citizens to show them the severity of the problems

because it is the environment in which we live and therefore, it is our job

to maintain it. As a result, our efforts as a rhetorical citizen didn’t go

unnoticed.

In addition, during this semester, in a group effort the class created

a map on transportation issues in the UCF/ Orlando area. My groups

map focuses on locations of bike racks on the UCF campus which is

ideal for students that ride their bikes on campus. Although, we weren’t

able to get in touch with Alaina from Landscape & Natural Resources, I

feel like if more people saw the problem, it would enact awareness and

then she might take a second look at the growing problem. If not, there

are still several opportunities for cyclists and students at UCF to get in

touch with the right people to change the bike rack issue. Most

Cameron 6

importantly, I hope our map gets in the hands of the right people so that

it can be used as a tool for the department of Landscape and Natural

Resources. It’s not that students are ignoring bike racks as a problem,

it’s more so a lack of agency. At the end of that project, I truly felt that I

did my part as a citizen and feel that our map has a potential to flourish.

Lastly, this class took place during an election year and when I

found out that President Barack Obama would be speaking at UCF, I felt

that it was my duty as a citizen to go see him. In politics, rhetoric and

citizenship go hand in hand. No matter what political party one is

affiliated with, I feel that it is their obligation to surround themselves

with the necessary tools to become aware of each party. When I found

out Obama would not be there to speak, I saw several people turn away.

However, I knew this wasn’t an opportunity that happened every day

and felt that as part of this country I had to stay to see Clinton. Although

I know this is just my opinion, when I think of civic engagement I think

largely of politics and environment. Civic engagement to me is one who

is active within their community and practices awareness.

Cameron 7

Over the course of this class, I have experienced that it is ideal to

be knowledgeable of rhetoric and citizenship in order to be civically

engaged. I feel like each of these terms falls back on the other. Without

rhetoric, one wouldn’t be a successful citizen and without civic

engagement, there might not be the true defining meaning of citizenship.

Looking back on the activities that I consider civic engagement, that I

have done up until this point, I realize that I could have gotten so much

more involved. After learning the significance of civic engagement

within my community, I don’t think I could go back to how idle I was

before. Whether it is online, or in the “real world”, I consider myself a

rhetorical citizen who continues to practice being civically engaged

within society. There really is no sufficient excuse as to why it is

acceptable to be any other way.

Work Cited

Cameron 8

Leith, Sam. Words like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to

Obama. Philadelphia: Basic

Books, 2012. Print.

Mathieu, Paula. Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in English

Composition. Portsmouth, New

Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 2005. Print.

Palczewski, Catherine Helen., Richard Ice, and John Fritch. Rhetoric in

Civic Life. State College,

PA: Strata Pub., 2012. Print.

Wan, Amy J, “In the Name of Citizenship: The Writing Classroom and

the Promise of

Citizenship.” College English 74.1 (2011). 28-47. Web. 7

November 2012.

Cameron 9