Katie Denton

English 540

Blair Assignment

Context: Teaching Blair to women students who are interested in abolitionist and/or female rhetoric and who have heard of the big female rhetors of the time.  We just completed a sequence on George Campbell.

The assignment sequence:

 Now that you have read Hugh Blair, I want you to consider what constitutes “good rhetoric” according to Blair.  So far you have read about the elements of composition from Blair’s perspective—taste, sublimity, beauty, precision, eloquence, and style.  Now I want you to choose one of these elements and complicate it (“wallow in complexity’—John Bean, outside of this time period, but that’s the concept I’m trying to get at with this sequence.).

Part I.

Choose three of the elements listed above and discussed in-depth in Blair.  For each one, complete the following sentence:

Blair defines ___________[insert chosen element here] as _____________________.

Part II.

Choose a speech that you are interested in discussing.  Using that speech, you will engage in some critical thinking/application.  Imagine that you are Hugh Blair, and that you are making an argument that the speech you have in hand employs “good rhetoric.”  Point to specific examples, applying the terms you have explored for Blair, to support your argument.

Part III.

Now you will draft your own work.  Create a piece of oratory that argues that women should/should not be allowed to address promiscuous audiences.  For the sake of this assignment, draft this speech with a male audience in mind.  Bring a rough copy of this speech to class.

Part IV.

Peer Review.  According to Blair, “Criticism is an art founded wholly on experience…” (23).  This peer review is intended to offer you the experience of providing constructive feedback to your classmates.

You should view your peer reviewer as an “expert” on Blairian rhetoric, based on the experiences of the last few assignments.  Your peer reviewer should focus on one Blairian element of rhetoric she chose for the first Hugh Blair assignment, and offer you feedback and suggestions on how to revise your composition in light of this rhetorical device.

Part V.

Rewrite your speech so that it takes into consideration the specific Blairian element your reviewer focused on.

In a brief reflective write-up, address the following questions:

• Which element did you focus on?
• What changes did you make throughout the drafting process that reflect your understanding of that rhetorical element?
• How have those changes affected your composition?