Rhetoric - Revision history

Michael Thomas Jones: /* Cosmopolitanism */

2025-12-20T01:47:46Z

Cosmopolitanism

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:47, 20 December 2025
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	== Cosmopolitanism ==		== Cosmopolitanism ==
	(Junior/Senior level Rhetoric ~~course~~)		(Junior/Senior level Rhetoric courses; or gap year after high school)

			[[World Cultures]]
	How to carry yourself in global professional society around many different peoples, without compromising your Christian or American values

	Exposure to world literature and cultures

	International relations, geography, post-colonialism, area studies ... for the conservative evangelical

	Understanding modern institutions and academia

	Political philosophy

	== Exercises ==		== Exercises ==

Michael Thomas Jones: /* Cosmopolitanism */

2025-12-15T20:52:57Z

Cosmopolitanism

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:52, 15 December 2025
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	Understanding modern institutions and academia		Understanding modern institutions and academia

			Political philosophy

	== Exercises ==		== Exercises ==

Michael Thomas Jones at 20:42, 15 December 2025

2025-12-15T20:42:43Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:42, 15 December 2025
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	Senior Thesis:		Senior Thesis:

			== Cosmopolitanism ==
			(Junior/Senior level Rhetoric course)

			How to carry yourself in global professional society around many different peoples, without compromising your Christian or American values

			Exposure to world literature and cultures

			International relations, geography, post-colonialism, area studies ... for the conservative evangelical

			Understanding modern institutions and academia

	== Exercises ==		== Exercises ==

Michael Thomas Jones: /* Exercises */

2025-10-29T05:26:36Z

Exercises

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:26, 29 October 2025
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	1: Write a 200 word opinion piece and read it publicly. The larger the crowd, the better.		1: Write a 200 word opinion piece and read it publicly. The larger the crowd, the better.

	2: Write a 500-1000 word essay comparing different talking points and articles you've read about a cultural issue or controversy involving faith, science, law, medicine, feminism, sexuality, race, economy, politics, etc.		2: Write a 500-1000 word essay comparing different talking points and articles you've read about a cultural issue or controversy involving faith, science, law, medicine, feminism, sexuality, race, economy, politics, literature, history, etc.

	3: Disagree with someone on twitter by quote tweeting them, either with a short snappy response or a long thread with qualifications.		3: Disagree with someone on twitter by quote tweeting them, either with a short snappy response or a long thread with qualifications.
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	5: Basic progymnasmata -- retell fables or stories from history; make or refute an argument; praise or condemn a public figure; speak in the voice of a famous person of the past; provide a detailed journalistic description of a person place or thing; argue against or in favor of a law.		5: Basic progymnasmata -- retell fables or stories from history; make or refute an argument; praise or condemn a public figure; speak in the voice of a famous person of the past; provide a detailed journalistic description of a person place or thing; argue against or in favor of a law.

			6: Reach out to a think tank, magazine, or institute that holds shared values with you and see if they would be willing to run a short essay written by a student on their website.

Michael Thomas Jones at 05:24, 29 October 2025

2025-10-29T05:24:28Z

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 Students grow in respect for the strengths and limitations of their own epistemic community while learning to acknowledge there may be intelligent and well informed people in other epistemic communities, without conceding to them just because they seem shiny and powerful.
-Lessons:
+== Lessons ==
 Quintilian
@@ Line 72: / Line 73: @@
 Senior Thesis:

Michael Thomas Jones at 05:01, 29 October 2025

2025-10-29T05:01:13Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:01, 29 October 2025
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	Rhetoric should mostly be practiced rather than theorized. Rhetoric classes should involve very little lecture from the teacher, and a lot of writing and speaking on the part of the student.		Rhetoric should mostly be practiced rather than theorized. Rhetoric classes should involve very little lecture from the teacher, and a lot of writing and speaking on the part of the student. However, teachers can provide something that few students can provide for themselves: initiation into literary culture and a high perspective on the online arenas of fiery intellectual debate.

	Students almost always struggle with essays, forming opinions, and developing their own rhetoric that isn't just fed to them by adults. Usually this is because they don't know enough about anything yet to form decisive opinions and seriously back them up. The more you read about history, as well as experience in your own life, the more rich and thoughtful your arguments can be.		Students almost always struggle with essays, forming opinions, and developing their own rhetoric that isn't just fed to them by adults. Usually this is because they don't know enough about anything yet to form decisive opinions and seriously back them up. The more you read about history, as well as experience in your own life, the more rich and thoughtful your arguments can be. And the more you read eloquent people argue in the present, the more context you can have to sort out your own thoughts and ways of phrasing things.

	Furthermore, the younger students are, the less likely they are to be conscious about their political interests within their city or within their nation, and what talking points ~~should~~ be ~~pushed~~ to defend their way of life, or what sort of positions are worth defending in public.		Furthermore, the younger students are, the less likely they are to be conscious about their political interests within their city or within their nation, and what talking points they should push to defend their way of life, or what sort of positions are worth defending in public.

	My recommendation is for students who care seriously about advancing their skill in rhetoric is that they begin reading Arts and Letters daily, an aggregator of the top articles being published across the most prestigious literary magazines online, as well as the blogs of writers and theologians they respect, on a daily basis. Regularly reading short essays not only gives you much more intuitive awareness about how to write essays yourself in a satisfying and flowing manner, but also gives you a lot of interesting source material you can quote and riff off of in your writing directly.		My recommendation is for students who care seriously about advancing their skill in rhetoric is that they begin reading Arts and Letters daily, an aggregator of the top articles being published across the most prestigious literary magazines online, as well as the blogs of writers and theologians they respect, on a daily basis. Regularly reading short essays not only gives you much more intuitive awareness about how to write essays yourself in a satisfying and flowing manner, but also gives you a lot of interesting source material you can quote and riff off of in your writing directly.

Michael Thomas Jones at 04:58, 29 October 2025

2025-10-29T04:58:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:58, 29 October 2025
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	Furthermore, the younger students are, the less likely they are to be conscious about their political interests within their city or within their nation, and what talking points should be pushed to defend their way of life, or what sort of positions are worth defending in public.		Furthermore, the younger students are, the less likely they are to be conscious about their political interests within their city or within their nation, and what talking points should be pushed to defend their way of life, or what sort of positions are worth defending in public.

	My recommendation is for students who care seriously about advancing their skill in rhetoric is that they begin reading Arts and Letters daily, an aggregator of the top articles being published across the most prestigious literary magazines online, as well as the blogs of writers and theologians they respect, on a daily basis. Regularly reading short essays not only gives you much more intuitive awareness about how to write essays yourself in a satisfying and flowing manner, but also gives		My recommendation is for students who care seriously about advancing their skill in rhetoric is that they begin reading Arts and Letters daily, an aggregator of the top articles being published across the most prestigious literary magazines online, as well as the blogs of writers and theologians they respect, on a daily basis. Regularly reading short essays not only gives you much more intuitive awareness about how to write essays yourself in a satisfying and flowing manner, but also gives you a lot of interesting source material you can quote and riff off of in your writing directly.

	Furthermore, students should seek out eloquent people online who represent their political and religious views and follow their accounts. Many of these accounts are anonymous, and students should form an anonymous account of their own, revealing no personal details other than to argue opinions with others and see what gets a reaction and what is ignored, what gets pushback and what is popular.		Furthermore, students should seek out eloquent people online who represent their political and religious views and follow their accounts. Many of these accounts are anonymous, and students should form an anonymous account of their own, revealing no personal details other than to argue opinions with others and see what gets a reaction and what is ignored, what gets pushback and what is popular.

Michael Thomas Jones at 04:55, 29 October 2025

2025-10-29T04:55:38Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:55, 29 October 2025
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			Rhetoric should mostly be practiced rather than theorized. Rhetoric classes should involve very little lecture from the teacher, and a lot of writing and speaking on the part of the student.
⚫	Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an ~~active~~ ~~practitioner~~, but for many not called ~~they~~ can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech ~~and~~ from institutions that seek to persuade their souls -- the news, the academy, the church, the entertainment industry, and so forth.

			Students almost always struggle with essays, forming opinions, and developing their own rhetoric that isn't just fed to them by adults. Usually this is because they don't know enough about anything yet to form decisive opinions and seriously back them up. The more you read about history, as well as experience in your own life, the more rich and thoughtful your arguments can be.

			Furthermore, the younger students are, the less likely they are to be conscious about their political interests within their city or within their nation, and what talking points should be pushed to defend their way of life, or what sort of positions are worth defending in public.
⚫	Anonymous participation in radical online literary and political groups is the most efficient way for young people to grow adept at mapping out the live rhetorical playing field. However, these circles can also be deceptive and unpleasant.

			My recommendation is for students who care seriously about advancing their skill in rhetoric is that they begin reading Arts and Letters daily, an aggregator of the top articles being published across the most prestigious literary magazines online, as well as the blogs of writers and theologians they respect, on a daily basis. Regularly reading short essays not only gives you much more intuitive awareness about how to write essays yourself in a satisfying and flowing manner, but also gives

			Furthermore, students should seek out eloquent people online who represent their political and religious views and follow their accounts. Many of these accounts are anonymous, and students should form an anonymous account of their own, revealing no personal details other than to argue opinions with others and see what gets a reaction and what is ignored, what gets pushback and what is popular.

		⚫	Anonymous participation in radical online literary and political groups is the most efficient way for young people to grow adept at mapping out the live rhetorical playing field. However, these circles can also be deceptive and unpleasant. So parents should be very careful about what sort of influencers their children are reading and listening to online.

		⚫	Rhetoric classes today should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow adept at handling all of these cultural fronts, but for the many not called, all students can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech, issued from the institutions that seek to persuade their souls -- the news, the academy, the church, the entertainment industry, and so forth.

			'''Expectations:'''

			Students express themselves with eloquence in person and online.

			Students have thoughtfully determined what issues in culture, politics, and religion they are willing to fight for and what they are willing to be diplomatic about.

			Students have their fingers on the pulse of the most persuasive work being done in literary and political circles, highbrow and lowbrow, and are beginning to find personalities they respect and disrespect.

			Students grow in respect for the strengths and limitations of their own epistemic community while learning to acknowledge there may be intelligent and well informed people in other epistemic communities, without conceding to them just because they seem shiny and powerful.

			Lessons:

			Quintilian

			Cicero

			Ethos

			Pathos

			Logos

			Invention: Research, Copiousness

			Style

			Arrangement: Exordium, Narratio, Divisio, Confirmatio, Refutatio, Conclusio

			Memory

			Delivery

			Stasis Theory:

			Rhetorical Devices:

			Epistemology and Rhetoric

			Political Philosophy

			Critical Theory and Wokeness

			Cultural criticism: movies and shows as ethical and social allegories

			Orators, Great and Terrible:

			The Greatest Short Essays:

			Twitter Rhetoric

			TikTok Rhetoric

			Streamers

			Bloggers & Substacks

			Essay Culture Online

			Senior Thesis:

Michael Thomas Jones at 08:24, 7 October 2025

2025-10-07T08:24:04Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:24, 7 October 2025
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	Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an active practitioner, but for many not called they can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech and from institutions that seek to ~~control~~ ~~them~~ -- the news, the academy, the church, the entertainment industry, and so forth.		Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an active practitioner, but for many not called they can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech and from institutions that seek to persuade their souls -- the news, the academy, the church, the entertainment industry, and so forth.

Michael Thomas Jones: Created page with "Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an active practitioner, but for many not called they can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech and from institutions that seek to control them -- the news, the academy, t..."

2025-10-07T08:23:32Z

Created page with "Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an active practitioner, but for many not called they can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech and from institutions that seek to control them -- the news, the academy, t..."

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Rhetoric classes should be focused on developing savviness in the student regarding political philosophy, online epistemic communities, media spectacle, and cultural criticism -- including how to deal with critical theory. Ideally the student would grow as an active practitioner, but for many not called they can at least grow familiar with many forms of deception and manipulation in public speech and from institutions that seek to control them -- the news, the academy, the church, the entertainment industry, and so forth.

Anonymous participation in radical online literary and political groups is the most efficient way for young people to grow adept at mapping out the live rhetorical playing field. However, these circles can also be deceptive and unpleasant.