西方文學與文化中的修辭

修辭雖小道,必有可觀者焉。本課程先介紹西方修辭源流及傳統,讓學生知道,自口頭至文學乃達文化,修辭其實無所不在。進一步,本課程將教授多種常見修辭,並舉實例,讓學生熟悉且能辨析。最後,重點將放在當代文化中隨處可見卻不易被辨識的各類語言及視覺修辭,教導學生抱持批判性思考,去辨別好壞並謹慎使用。 Why should we “make a big deal” out of such a minor thing as rhetoric? Because there is something major hidden in it. This course will introduce the origin and tradition of western rhetoric in the first place. Students will come to realize that, from oral communication to literature and culture, rhetoric is ubiquitous. Further, this course will teach various common figures of speech and give examples in our everyday life. Students will get acquainted with the knowledge of rhetoric and learn how to analyze it. Last but not least, the point will be laid on all kinds of linguistic and visual rhetoric used in modern culture, which usually go unnoticed. Students will be taught to be critical and to use them with caution. 語言影響思考,思考左右行為,行為決定結果。因此,若要有好的結果,倒推回去,則要有好的語言。何謂好的語言?修辭是也。正因我們對潛伏在文化中的修辭習焉不察,因此常受壞修辭影響,溫水煮蛙,一步步釀成壞結果。本課程的初衷,便是希望自源頭導正,教導學生如何培養批判能力,去辦別帶有偏見或惡意的修辭,不論是口頭的、文字的、視覺的,進而將之從生活中修正或移除。綜言之,學生不僅將對語言更加敏感與敏銳,且將習得人文社會學科當中極為重要的批判力。 Language influences our thought (Yes, not the other way around). Our thought sways our action. Our action determines the result. Therefore, if we want to have a good result, we need good usage of language in the beginning. In other words, we need good usage of rhetoric. More often than not, we are too accustomed to the appearance of rhetoric to recognize it. As a result, even when “bad” rhetoric appears and influences us, we do not know it. The intention of the course is to teach students how to be critical of biased or mean rhetoric, be it verbal, written, or visual. To sum up, our students will be more sensitive to the usage of language and improve critical thinking.

The students should be able to communicate in basic English.

lecture and discussion

Mid-term oral presentation: 30% Final Exam: 30% Participation: 40% (discussion and attendance)

• Introduction
• Using Rhetoric: Rhetoric and Popular Culture
• Using Rhetoric: Rhetoric and Popular Culture
• Using Rhetoric: Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Tradition
• Using Rhetoric: Rhetoric and the Rhetorical Tradition
• Rhetorical Methods in Critical Studies
• Rhetorical Methods in Critical Studies
• Recapitulation
• Mid-term oral presentation
• Varieties of Rhetorical Criticism
• Paradoxes of Personalization
• Visual Rhetoric
• Visual Rhetoric
• Visual Rhetoric
• Visual Rhetoric
• Final Exam

The teacher will use his slides.

聯絡方式

cheyenwu@gmail.com