Revised Conference Proposal

Reviving Oral Rhetoric in Composition Classes Through New Media

In her 2009 CCC article, Cynthia Selfe points out that when printed alphabetic texts are the only accepted means of composition, we “ignore the history of rhetoric and its intellectual inheritance” (618). In particular, Selfe argues that sound “is often undervalued as a compositional mode” (617). Today, students are frequently exposed to multiple modes of communication such as audio, video, webpages, etc, and so they should have the ability to compose in multiple modes. Therefore, Selfe says, some focus on aurality and other modes of communication should have their place in composition classes in addition to writing (625-26). Building on Selfe, I will argue that because modern students should have the ability to compose effectively in multiple modes, oral rhetoric has a place in composition classes. Further, new media composition’s use of audio might be viewed as an effective way to revive oral rhetoric in our classes. When students compose multimodal projects with audio, using their own voice, they must carefully consider their tone, emphasis, speed, pronunciation, clarity, etc., which are all concerns of oral rhetoric. Further, music and sound effects can play an important role, affecting how the voices are heard. While new media composition is new in that it largely depends on computers and technology, the oral element of an audio essay is an important part of traditional rhetoric. From ancient times until the nineteenth century, orality was of central importance to rhetoric. With the increased need of writing by the end of the nineteenth century, however, less emphasis was placed on oral rhetoric, and so today it is given little attention in composition classes. With new modes of communication, however, oral rhetoric does have a place in our classrooms, and new media might be a way to give it a place.