Cushmanite rhetoric

Ellen Cushman’s essay on social change contrasted with Burke and the idea of pure theory. Cushman advocates the use of rhetoric for social change but also challenges those who are skilled to empower others. (Or more precisely, to teach others to empower themselves.) In other words, I found her essay pragmatic in many ways. I also noticed the reading inspired response from much of our class. I have wondered if we could split the class into Burkians and Cushmanites—their approaches to rhetoric, while not necessarily mutually exclusive, seem opposite ends of a particular spectrum to me. --No, you did not hear me say “binary.”

Her essay is striking when considered alongside the Brereton history of American college models of composition study. Specifically, I remarked in an earlier post that I’d seen plenty of evidence in American universities of the German institutional model with its emphasis on research and academic scholarship. Cushman turns those priorities upside down. She says scholars should and must identify with people outside the university in order to bring about social changes (383).

Her message, which I believe quite important, isn’t my favorite aspect of her essay—I appreciate even more than the message her use of rhetoric to illustrate the identification she encourages. Throughout the essay, in text or notes, she places herself as much in the community she wishes to assist as in the university community. She refers to her “white trash history” (377) and writes inclusively about shared experiences of cockroaches, unpaid bills, or domestic violence (382). Her essay represents precisely what she advocates: the use of rhetoric to promote a sense of community rather than separation.