SUMMARY
Ulla Connor - Changing currents in contrastive rhetoric
This chapter discussed the the history and implications of contrastive rhetoric. Connor writes "The underlying premise of the field is that any given language is likely to have written texts that are constructed using identifiable discourse features". Connor takes us through a history of Contrastive Rhetoric, beginning with Kaplan's influential "doodle" paper, wherein Connor explains Kaplan's original insights regarding the rhetoric of different cultures. Contrastive rhetoric has now gorwn into an interdisciplinary domain of second language acquisition with rich theoretical underpinnings in both linguistics and rhetoric. Connor then talks about applications of contrastive rhetoric in EFL situations. Connor then addresses some criticisms of contrastive rhetoric. One of the issues with contrastive rhetoric is that it presents individuals of a culture as being subject to the rhetorical devices of their first, native, or dominant language. Another issue is culture is a fluid and ever-changing thing. This means that it would be difficult to assert what the rhetorical conventions of a language are, since they could be and likely are in flux most of the time. Connor then concludes the chapter by summarizing the current state of contrastive rhetoric, and suggesting what the future holds for contrastive rhetoric.
Ryuko Kubota - Japanese Culture Constructed by Discourses
This article from the TESOL Quarterly discusses Japanese culture identities as view through a dichotomous relationship of East vs. West. Kubota argues that this is a problematic binary. Kubota writes "This article takes Japanese culture as an example, and after summarizing the characterizations of Japanese culture that appear in the applied linguistics literature, critiques the essentialized representations of culture found in discussions of teaching writing and critical thinking to ESL students. It also attempts to come to terms with the pedagogical tension between acculturation and pluralist approaches... Second, I point out that the Other adopts cultural distinctiveness, manifesting a struggle for power in Westernization, as is evident in the discourse of the uniqueness of Japanese culture that has been promoted in Japan since the 1960s. Third, I present an emerging body of research on Japanese schooling as counterknowledge that is generating a new understanding of culture in Japanese education. Finally this article discusses (a) a perspective of critical multiculturalism as a way of understanding cultural differences in educational contexts and (b) implications for L2 teaching from a view of critical literacy." In a later section Kubota discusses pedagogical issues relating to approaches in teaching culture and language. Kubota presents three models: The acculturation model, the pluralist model, and critical multiculturalism. She then has a section regarding dominant codes, and discusses the power struggle between languages of high and low prestige, and how to be more conscious of the issues that may arise from said power inequality.
Ryuko Kubota - Unfinished Knowledge: The Story of Barbara
This was an interesting text. It basically did in narrative what the two aforementioned articles did in demonstrating the historical currents of contrastive rhetoric. It was easy to follow and very informative.It was an interesting alternative approach to informative writing.
REFLECTIONS
I was first introduced to contrastive rhetoric at community college in a Women's Literature class. I can't remember what the instructors point was, but I think perhaps it was that different cultures think differently, or rather that individuals think differently and will approach communication in different ways. I remember that she showed us the Kaplan doodles specifically. She was probably priming our pumps for alternative viewpoints and narratives. The whole thing kind of reminds me of the joke "White people talk like this..." and "Black people talk like this...", which only supports the concept of essentialism, unfortunately.
I guess before that and since then I haven't much considered or entertained the idea that individuals from other cultures will approach communication differently. I feel like contrastive rhetoric is an off-shoot of discourse analytics, but in a different form. I suppose we're all kind of familiar with the notion that people approach communication in different ways, and that misunderstandings typically arise from a lack of understanding between interlocutors. So I see how it is important for us as future educators of English as a second language to be cognizant about these issues that will inevitably arise with teaching the rhetorical stylings of English. It is a delicate balance between helping students maintain their identity and voice while also successfully using the rhetorical strategies and devices of their L2.
On a semi-related note, I asked someone on facebook today to "not reduce me to a single aspect of my identity". He told me I should like spicy food because I'm a Mexican.
FURTHER QUESTIONS
1. Is anyone else becoming really, really hyper-critical of the conversations they have with others?
2. Why isn't there more of an emphasis placed on educating people about this stuff earlier in life? It seems like this knowledge would be valuable to more than just future ESL teachers.
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