Week 12

My understanding of the word rhetoric is that it was used in the 19th century and it's one of the three ancient arts of communication. When I hear the word rhetoric I think persuasion. I believe that our values and deep seeded thoughts are what constitutes rhetoric. I think that the way we dress and act also constitute rhetoric, but we mostly use our values to persuade others to believe the same things we do. I honestly don't hear the word very much outside of the classroom. I have heard it a few times on the news stations, but only two or three times. I think rhetoric is meant to be positive, but depending on how they view the subject it could very well be negative.
Rhetoric is a big part of any religion, including Christianity. The most common role of rhetoric in Christianity is to influence the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs of those who are listening to who is speaking. Since rhetoric is a big part of religion I am sure I will use it frequently in my mini-ethnography.