The Roommate Dynamic

Feminist Rhetorical Theory

"male and female speakers who use the feminine style [of speaking] rely primarily on using personal experience, extended narratives and anecdotes" (Museta 123)

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York 1848

Spelled out the issues and causes of the feminist movement

1. Inclusion
2.Reconceptualization
3. Gender Diversity
4.Oppression and liberation

Inclusion:
Focus on rhetors who had public power, but there weren't a lot in rhetorical history.
Some of the female rhetors were more private, so they went unnoticed

Reconceptualization:
Women should be studied as rhetors
May empower women

Gender Diversity:
Dichotomous approaches-Misrepresentation of the history of rhetoric
Incorporate more female voices in history and in present

Oppression and Liberation:
Free women's voices
Rhetoric oppresses and liberates

Afrocentric Rhetorical Theories

Frame of mind

The speaker's and audience's creative and psychological influences

Rhythm: To create a relationship with the audience

Styling: To convey status or create identification between speaker and audience

When talking to a roommate you need to be aware of who you are talking to and the relationship you have

Amy Tan writes about how she speaks differently around her mom compared to when she speaks in public. She would not speak the same way to both audiences because she has different relationships

Linguistic Code

Historical methods of conveying information

"the speaker must have the skill to know when to use intonation and tonal styling. Likewise, emotion is an important part of using the voice to achieve affective rhetoric." (Borcher's 9)

One must know how and when to say something in order for the audience to understand what the rhetor is saying

Aristotelian Rhetorical Theories

Kairos

My roommates have different opinions on some political and non-political issues. If they were to have a conversation about one of the hot topics, it could cause a big problem. We make sure we time our conversation and have them with certain people in order to keep the peace

Each one of us needs to know the right time in place to make jokes or say something

Ethos

As roommates, we usually speak or help each other out when we know what they are taking about. Conversation is usually overheard and we interject when we have something to say

We talk to each other when we are planning something to have different points of view. We know what each other's priorities are and we know that we want to be efficient

Logos

Roommates set rules and boundaries when they
move in with each other in order to keep peace within the household

Pathos

Women tend to use emotion when conversing.
"humans cannot be understood unless the thoughts, beliefs, feelings, values and assumptions that preceded those actions are understood." (Museta 122)

I know that I have had conversations where the person speaking says something that she knows will make the listener react in a certain way

It is amazing to see the way females can manipulate people through conversation. You may not feel anything about a certain matter, but just discussing a topic can create passionate emotions

Roommate may create a strong attachment to one another and always hang out with one another- Social Surrogacy