Curious to find how Graduate Students in the field of Writing and Rhetoric view a concept that is so crucial to the field, we, as a group, compiled a list of questions revolving around the use of pathos in the college classroom. We interviewed three graduate students Lehua Ledbetter, Rebecca Zantjer, and Allegra Smith seeking their opinions on the concept. While the responses varied slightly, it was clear that these grad students all agree on the relevance of pathos in the classroom.
In our first question we asked, when do you feel the use of pathos is most effective? Lehua responded, “I think pathos can be a great way of connecting with others--as humans, I think emotion is one of the basic tools that we have to build and maintain relationships. Pathos is effective in almost every aspect of communication, and communication is one of the ways that we connect with audiences.” Rebecca responded, specifically referring to a classroom setting, “I think you have to use pathos in the classroom because you have to get students to care. If you can’t be emotionally invested in your own work, students won’t care either, the best work comes from when you’re emotionally invested.” Allegra responded, “Pathos is most effective when it’s carefully tailored to the particular audience one is speaking/writing to.” Additionally, Allegra noted that she feels emotional appeals are best felt when partnered with the rhetorical technique of Kairos, or idea that words are spoken during the appropriate rhetorical moment; also, key traits of the audience should be taken into consideration such as are they sympathetic, defensive, how educated, what age, etc.
In our first question we asked, when do you feel the use of pathos is most effective? Lehua responded, “I think pathos can be a great way of connecting with others--as humans, I think emotion is one of the basic tools that we have to build and maintain relationships. Pathos is effective in almost every aspect of communication, and communication is one of the ways that we connect with audiences.” Rebecca responded, specifically referring to a classroom setting, “I think you have to use pathos in the classroom because you have to get students to care. If you can’t be emotionally invested in your own work, students won’t care either, the best work comes from when you’re emotionally invested.” Allegra responded, “Pathos is most effective when it’s carefully tailored to the particular audience one is speaking/writing to.” Additionally, Allegra noted that she feels emotional appeals are best felt when partnered with the rhetorical technique of Kairos, or idea that words are spoken during the appropriate rhetorical moment; also, key traits of the audience should be taken into consideration such as are they sympathetic, defensive, how educated, what age, etc.
In response to the question, do you think that pathos can be used in teaching? Allegra answered, “Absolutely! I think that instructors, as well as students, are discouraged from using pathos because it’s been devalued as a resource for argument in society. We value logical or factual reasoning, and emotion is seen as unnecessary sentiment. I think that instructors can model effective use of emotion, in conjunction with other kinds of appeals (logical, ethical, etc.), in order to show students that argument doesn’t have to be just facts and figures in order to be effective.” If pathos is clearly well taught in the classroom, then students will be able to begin adopting their own use of pathos/ Lehua said, “I believe that the ability to recognize and analyze pathos will help students use it more effectively themselves.”
During my interview with Rebecca, she told a story about how her students responded to her use of pathos during a specific discussion. Rebecca teaches a first level writing class, and on the day rough drafts were due for peer edits, the class turned into a discussion about grammar. With a diverse group of students, the knowledge and use of grammar differed significantly. Rebecca asked her class to consider who wrote the grammar handbooks; concluding that only a very small group of people are represented within those rules. Rebecca asked her class why those, who are not represented in the handbooks, should support the system. Subjectivity in the classroom was never understood until this moment. In considering this question, Rebecca felt that the students were able to bring themselves back into the classroom. “There is a stereotype that academic writing has to be very formal, however, after that conversation the students were able to look at it in a different light,” said Rebecca.
“I do often use examples of current events that students may have opinions about--things that I see in the media, or things that happen on campus. Students seem to be more likely to participate if they have an opportunity to discuss something by drawing on their knowledge and experiences.” Lehua responded to the questions, what rhetorical techniques do you use to get students more involved in the classroom? Lehua believes that when students feel strongly about recent events, it is a good way for them to make connections with what they are doing in class. She also stated. “I teach pathos as a rhetorical tool frequently and encourage students to pay attention to how it is used in the media they encounter in their own lives.”
During my interview with Rebecca, she told a story about how her students responded to her use of pathos during a specific discussion. Rebecca teaches a first level writing class, and on the day rough drafts were due for peer edits, the class turned into a discussion about grammar. With a diverse group of students, the knowledge and use of grammar differed significantly. Rebecca asked her class to consider who wrote the grammar handbooks; concluding that only a very small group of people are represented within those rules. Rebecca asked her class why those, who are not represented in the handbooks, should support the system. Subjectivity in the classroom was never understood until this moment. In considering this question, Rebecca felt that the students were able to bring themselves back into the classroom. “There is a stereotype that academic writing has to be very formal, however, after that conversation the students were able to look at it in a different light,” said Rebecca.
“I do often use examples of current events that students may have opinions about--things that I see in the media, or things that happen on campus. Students seem to be more likely to participate if they have an opportunity to discuss something by drawing on their knowledge and experiences.” Lehua responded to the questions, what rhetorical techniques do you use to get students more involved in the classroom? Lehua believes that when students feel strongly about recent events, it is a good way for them to make connections with what they are doing in class. She also stated. “I teach pathos as a rhetorical tool frequently and encourage students to pay attention to how it is used in the media they encounter in their own lives.”
In response to the question about the use of complimentary and derogatory language in the classroom, Rebecca said. “Telling someone they suck is never helpful. Not everything is going to be good, but complimentary language, when something is not that good, is not helpful either. I’ve found that attacking students never really works. Complimentary language doesn’t have much evidence behind it, after a while it can come across as empty and hollow. Both are necessary in the classroom, but they need to have justification.” Rebecca also noted that she will never call students out during class, although she will occasionally praise them in front of the class because she feels it creates healthy competition.
Throughout this project, we have come to find that pathos is not only important, but also an active part of our daily lives. Rebecca said, “I think everyone is knowledgeable of pathos even if you don’t call it that, or are not aware of it- we all know how to use a guilt trip, have seen it on TV, watched presidential elections, etc.” Commonly, both Lehua and Allegra agreed that pathos is, absolutely, something that teacher should be aware of; especially those in the field of writing.
In our final question, we asked these graduate students whether or not they felt students respond better to lectures that use the pathos technique, rather than to those that don’t. Allegra said, “I think that it’s largely dependent upon the rhetorical situation. Do the students take the teacher seriously? Are they able to relate to the emotional appeals that are being made? Is the emotion genuine?” Lehua also commented on this inquiry and said, “I do think that students are more likely to respond to presentations that make use of content that students feel strongly about, but I think that these things should be used with care. The classroom should always be a safe space and I would not use subject matter that might make students feel really uncomfortable or obligated to share.”
In summary, it is apparent that pathos plays a key role in many aspects of our daily lives, and we sometimes even use it without being aware of it. Lehua, Rebecca, and Allegra all agreed that pathos is definitely something that should be used in the classroom and can be an important concept helping students to learn, connect, and take greater interest in classroom material.
Throughout this project, we have come to find that pathos is not only important, but also an active part of our daily lives. Rebecca said, “I think everyone is knowledgeable of pathos even if you don’t call it that, or are not aware of it- we all know how to use a guilt trip, have seen it on TV, watched presidential elections, etc.” Commonly, both Lehua and Allegra agreed that pathos is, absolutely, something that teacher should be aware of; especially those in the field of writing.
In our final question, we asked these graduate students whether or not they felt students respond better to lectures that use the pathos technique, rather than to those that don’t. Allegra said, “I think that it’s largely dependent upon the rhetorical situation. Do the students take the teacher seriously? Are they able to relate to the emotional appeals that are being made? Is the emotion genuine?” Lehua also commented on this inquiry and said, “I do think that students are more likely to respond to presentations that make use of content that students feel strongly about, but I think that these things should be used with care. The classroom should always be a safe space and I would not use subject matter that might make students feel really uncomfortable or obligated to share.”
In summary, it is apparent that pathos plays a key role in many aspects of our daily lives, and we sometimes even use it without being aware of it. Lehua, Rebecca, and Allegra all agreed that pathos is definitely something that should be used in the classroom and can be an important concept helping students to learn, connect, and take greater interest in classroom material.
Lehua Ledbetter
Doctoral student in Rhetoric & Writing, a University Distinguished Fellow, and graduate teaching assistant. Her research interests include publics theory, digital and cultural rhetorics, social justice, and composition pedagogy.
http://wrac.msu.edu/people/page/5/
Doctoral student in Rhetoric & Writing, a University Distinguished Fellow, and graduate teaching assistant. Her research interests include publics theory, digital and cultural rhetorics, social justice, and composition pedagogy.
http://wrac.msu.edu/people/page/5/
Rebecca Zantjer
Master’s student in the Digital Rhetoric and Professional Writing program at Michigan State University. She also does graduate research at the university.
http://www2.matrix.msu.edu/people/rebecca-zantjer/
Master’s student in the Digital Rhetoric and Professional Writing program at Michigan State University. She also does graduate research at the university.
http://www2.matrix.msu.edu/people/rebecca-zantjer/
Allegra Smith
First year master's student in the Critical Studies in Literacy and Pedagogy at Michigan State University.
http://michiganstate.academia.edu/AllegraSmith
First year master's student in the Critical Studies in Literacy and Pedagogy at Michigan State University.
http://michiganstate.academia.edu/AllegraSmith