Changing the Subject: A Theory of Rhetorical Empathy - Couverture souple

Blankenship, Lisa

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1607329093 ISBN 13 : 9781607329091

Editeur : Utah State University Press, 2019

Synopsis

Changing the Subject explores ways of engaging across difference. In this first book-length study of the concept of empathy from a rhetorical perspective, Lisa Blankenship frames the classical concept of pathos in new ways and makes a case for rhetorical empathy as a means of ethical rhetorical engagement. The book considers how empathy can be a deliberate, conscious choice to try to understand others through deep listening and how language and other symbol systems play a role in this process that is both cognitive and affective.

Departing from agonistic win-or-lose rhetoric in the classical Greek tradition that has so strongly influenced Western thinking, Blankenship proposes that we ourselves are changed ("changing the subject" or the self) when we focus on trying to understand rather than simply changing an Other. This work is informed by her experiences growing up in the conservative South and now working as a professor in New York City, as well as the stories and examples of three people working across profound social, political, class, and gender differences: Jane Addams's activist work on behalf of immigrants and domestic workers in Gilded Age Chicago; the social media advocacy of Brazilian rap star and former maid Joyce Fernandes for domestic worker labor reform; and the online activist work of Justin Lee, a queer Christian who advocates for greater understanding and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in conservative Christian churches.

A much-needed book in the current political climate, Changing the Subject charts new theoretical ground and proposes ways of integrating principles of rhetorical empathy in our everyday lives to help fight the temptations of despair and disengagement. The book will appeal to students, scholars, and teachers of rhetoric and composition as well as people outside the academy in search of new ways of engaging across differences.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Lisa Blankenship is assistant professor of English and director of First-Year Writing at Baruch College, City University of New York. She has previously published in Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society and Computers and Composition.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Utah State University Press
• Date d'édition: 2019
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1607329093
• ISBN 13: 9781607329091
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 170
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible