A Political Thriller c. 63 BCE Journal #6
February 16
1hr 30 min
Today we discussed this generations obsession with portraiture because we are into social media — posting pictures of ourselves. The picture is either a selfie, where the individual takes the pictures themselves or someone else sends them the picture. When we do social media post we are interested in portraying our true selves. We are obsession with impression management and “best version of our selves”.
When we first brought up this discussion, my first thought was that this does not apply to me because I hate taking pictures. I update my picture on twitter every 3 months. I disabled my Instagram simply for the fact that I neglected to add photos on a daily basis like most of my friends. I may not like taking pictures but I have to agree that when I do take a picture, I will not post it unless the picture is the best. The best angle. The best lighting. The best posture. The best expression.
Alexander the Great is a good example of someone who started the idea of self presentation. Although he may not have invented vanity, his emphasis on self presentation could have had a lot to do with his ambition to be ruler of the known world.
Here are a few examples of self presentation:
(1) Gorgon head- an apotropaic symbol- meant to turn away an enemy or inflict fear on to others
(2)The Cross- warn off evil influences
(3) Beware of dog signs- a sign use alert intruders and to impose caution
If you had to do the ideal portrait of yourself, what would it look like. What would your expression be, posture be, the setting, clothing choose, accessories, gestures?
An ideal portrait of myself would include a picture of me in a field of flowers with my arms wide open, welcoming the calm wind, and my head tilted upward, basking in the warm sunlight. I would be wearing a simple white dress, bare feet , no makeup and a pair of pearls in my ears. My hair would be in my natural curls with a single flower behind my ear. My expression would be one of pure happiness. My smile would stretch from one cheek to the other and my eyes would sparkle as if they held all of the worlds treasures.
February 21
2hr
Today we discussed rhetoric — the art of persuasion. Through rhetorical devices one can put people in a certain mental state that they were not in before. Thus,changing their perspective on something.
Aristotle believed that character (how you appeal to others) was the most persuasive thing of all.
· Ethos appeal to the audience’s sense of honesty and/or authority
· Pathos appeal to the audience’s sense of emotions
· Logos appeal to the audience’s sense of logic
Demosthenes - a Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens famous for his effort to study rhetoric
Cicero- illustrates how rhetoric will enhance you intellectually and socially
Andreia — meaning manliness, courage, manly spirit
Novos Homo — meaning a ‘’new man’’
This term refers to someone who was not of a Senatorial family who was still able to enter the Senate ranks. In other words, the person did not come from a family that has councils in its lineage ( elective position held for 2 years). This was very important during this time because public speaking is what “made” you man or a full citizen.
In the Iliad, the assembly is described as a place where men made glory. They are speaking in front of a public audience with the intentions to make a decision or give advice that everyone else can follow. The assembly was important because other than going to battle, gathering for conversation and debate is where MEN gain recognition. Public speaking is a man thing on the assumption that men are suppose to have courage and women are not suppose to. If you are human being born with man parts and you don’t step up to public speaking. If you were a man and you didn’t, your manliness would be considered “on the line”’the same way you would be on the battle field. This brings up the concept of fragile manhood. If you are a man in 21st century culture or even ancient Greece, there are various ways you can loose your manhood. I f a man looses his job, it can lead to him “loosing his manhood” because they can no longer be the provider. Getting beat up in a fight, backing down from a fight, or loosing an argument can also cause a man to loose his manhood. Due to public reputation, a man is suppose to have a certain reputation- provider, fights and arguments.
A womanhood, on the other hand is not as fragile construct. Thank God! te only way a woman would even be considered as “loosing her womanhood” would be if she was barren and unable to bare a child
Aristotle believed that public speaking took both moral and physical courage.It is very easy to be mocked and tease. Throughout my academic career, I have been in many classes where we had to do presentations and I have been in many organizations where I have held a leadership position that required me to be the voice of my organization. Every time, I stand in front of a crowd, my anxieties rise, because I hate being the center of attention and I fear looking like a fool. One trick I have learned over time is to make my audience laugh. I would rather they laugh with me than at me. When laughter is involved, I start to feel more comfortable and my speech begins to feel less forced.
3 kinds of rhetoric
- forensic: this is rhetoric in the courtroom. The question is whether an individual is innocent or guilty.
- epideictic oratory- this is rhetoric you encounter in a speech of praise or blame. The question is whether someone was a good person or bad person. An example of this is an eulogy. The term invective refers to insulting or humiliating someone in speech. You use invective speech as a gesture of dominance to make others look lesser. Praising someone can show that you are the keeper of praise, you know what is good or bad behavior.
- deliberative : this is rhetoric you encounter when you are in a group or a committee deciding what to do. The question is what should we do and what should we not do.
You Can Go Your Own Way
In You can go your own way, there is definitely a lot of epideictic oratory, speech about praise and blame. Achilles, for example, says that Agamemnon fed off of other people and he sat back and took the spoils from other people. Deliberative rhetoric is used when the Gods have to decide whether or not to Chryseis should be given back to Chryses or whether or not Agamemnon even deserves compensation for the spoils he lost. Nestor was the one that tends to weighs the pros and cons. Should they reconcile?What are the consequences. he uses epideictic oratory to praise both of Achilles and Agamemnon. He viewed Achilles as a great warrior and Agamemnon as a great leader.
I know what boys like
In I know what boys like, epideictic oratory is used when Antony, a Roman senator, delivers a famous eulogy for the assignation of Julius Caesar. Cicero hates Antony and voices this through his philippics. He describes Antony as a woman who is acting like Julius Caesar’s wife who he is in love with and trying to defend.
Socrates last stand
In Socrates Last Stand, all three types of rhetoric is used. Epideictic oratory is used through mentions of the symposium — where recognition, love and praise is given. Forensic rhetoric is used as Socrates is on trail in court and is he guilty or innocent of negatively influencing others to turn against the Gods and government in place. Deliberative rhetoric is used as the courtroom has kind of been turned into an assembly. The members are given the task of deciding what to do with Socrates and should the people even have freedom of inquiry since Socrates considered himself as someone who wakes other people up — gadfly. He felt as though it was his duty to wake others up to their own ignorance and takes them up to a higher level of consciousness.Also they had to decide if they wanted their leaders to feel secure in their ignorance or feel threatened and what kind of society do they want to live in?
One of the most important things I learned though out this weeks lecture is that dialogue is a process of talking to each other back and forth to investigate a question. The goal is truth not persuasion. In order to do so, one must learn how to effectively manage emotions, including the ability to regulate their own emotions in order apply them to tasks like thinking and problems solving. This process is emotional intelligence.
The Five Canons of Rhetoric- Cicero
Until Next Time,
Sashina Haughton