Prior to taking English 137H, I had been exposed to rhetorical strategy.  I was able to identify the different strategies and rhetorical choices at play that made certain speeches, writings, etc. convincing.  That entire time that I had spent focusing on rhetoric alone, though, I neglected to consider the different civic aspects of different artifacts.  I didn’t consider elements like kairos, which determine the timeliness of an issue, or its relevance to the audience.

Combining my prior knowledge of rhetorical strategy with the new civic elements allowed me to gain a greater understanding of different artifacts all around me.  One of the most significant ways being a newfound ability to identify commonplaces.  I think myself, and many others, already understood the concept of a commonplace, albeit I did not really have a specific term to refer to them.  That being said, I didn’t necessarily gain a better understanding of what a commonplace is, rather I have found it far easier to identify them in all sorts of civic artifacts, like: advertisements, slogans, or news articles.  Broadening my understanding of the rhetorical strategies at play around me has given me the ability to be more engaged within the communities around me, as well as gain insight into why people do or say the things that they do.  I now understand both what people are saying, but more importantly why they are saying what they are saying.  That is something I feel to be very important, and is probably the most important topic that I have gained understanding about compared to August.