Introducing: Bushra, Mercer, and Rhetoric

My name is Bushra Malaibari and I'm a PhD student in the Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics (RWL) division in the English Department. I came to UTK with a BA in Chemistry and Literature (Honors) and an MA in Written Communications (Teaching First Year Composition in Higher Ed). I usually teach composition classes, and my scholarly work is focused in rhetoric and rhetorical theory. Even if people don't know the scholarly definition of  "rhetoric," most people can correctly assume that it has to do with communicating. So it's not surprising that I like words enough to want to make a professional career of it; and I especially like words that are spoken (even though written words are also pretty great). Nevertheless, one of my favorite reactions I get after introducing myself to non-rhetoricians is people thinking I know everything about grammar and public speaking. Nothing could be further from the truth! Pursuing scholarly endeavors in rhetoric is fascinating to me because it is all about varieties of exchange. Every person has their own style to present their ideas, but somehow large groups of people can get together and have a conversation. So instead of thinking that I'm a rhetorician because I know absolutely how to use words, I like to think that I'm a rhetorician because I know that there is no one way to trade words. And I'm definitely ready to hear how others use, exchange, and understand words.

With that short introduction, I have to say that Mercer's Words & Mind: How We Use Language to Think Together was not necessarily my ideal introduction to language exchange because it mitigates the rhetorics of languages that catalyzes its users to action. Mercer relied heavily on linguistic theories to justify his take on language. But linguistics--or at least some disciplines within linguistics--can diminish the telos of language. He explains his exigence for this text on language at the end of first chapter: "there is something of special important that language enables us to do, which although vital for our everyday lives, is rarely held up for special consideration in research on language and thinking. It is that language provides us with a means for thinking together, for jointly creating knowledge and understanding" (14-15, original emphasis). My poor, little heart skipped a beat at this claim because it's the field of rhetoric that observes the combustion of language and thinking to create knowledge and understanding.

Moreover, the conceptual introduction of "rhetoric" is not until chapter 4 (chapter 4!!), where it is limited to archaic and pop-culture definitions. First, Mercer uses an extremely abbreviated definition of rhetoric as "persuasive language" and rounds it out with "persuasion and argument as inherently dubious or aberrant activities" (73). Surely, this definition isn't out-and-out wrong, but he conflates canonical texts with contemporary society and ignores 20th century work on rhetoric, which makes me sad. I have to include that Aristotle's definition ("persuasion") is not that truncated, but it also includes pages of commentary afterwards on the moral fiber of the rhetor. Aristotle focuses his definitions on people who are engaged in truth. And it is within this motivation for exchanges of "truths" that persuasion occurs since truths are subjective. So while I love the conceptual idea that I can call liars and conmen "bad rhetors," it is within the 20th century that rhetoric and rhetorical theorist start consider the implications of communicative exchanges based on dogma, tyranny, and other nefarious activities that conflict with other people's truths.

But this is not to say that Mercer's text is without merit: there are explanations and examples of some dense concepts and topics given in a seemingly casual way. The development of issues on language practices allows readers to quickly engage in the text, without getting overwhelmed by the topics. (This book would have been profoundly helpful in keeping terms clear in my mind in previous classes.) And the book's organization was nicely arranged to first set the stage of language exchanges, and then investigate those concepts within micro to macro spaces, without apparent redundancy or repetition. It definitely works as an introduction to language practices for qualitative researchers. 

Mercer, Neil. Words & Minds: How We Use Language to Think Together. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2000.