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M&R Ch. 4: Rhetoric and relevance

Posted onAuthorBrian Larson2 Comments

This is my colleague Chris Cocchiarella’s summary of the fourth chapter of Wilson and Sperber’s (2012) Meaning and Relevance. We previously posted Chris’s summary of the book’s preface, an intro to some of the terms and concepts of Relevance Theory, and a his summary of the introductory Chapter 1. All the other chapters  before the present one have also received summaries. (Click on the “Relevance Theory” tag link on any of these, and you’ll get the whole list.) I also posted a claim that Relevance Theory matters to rhetoric and TC. Since the first three chapters of Meaning And Relevance are fairly dense, let’s briefly highlight Read More …

M&R Ch. 2. The mapping between the mental and the public lexicon

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This is my colleague Chris Cocchiarella’s summary of the second chapter of Wilson and Sperber’s (2012) Meaning and Relevance. We previously posted a summary of the book’s preface, an intro to some of the terms and concepts of Relevance Theory, and a summary of Chapter 1. I also posted a claim that Relevance Theory matters to rhetoric and TC. Concepts and Words In Chapter 1, Sperber and Wilson explained how, in Relevance Theory (RT), words that are linguistically encoded (‘explicatures’) and concepts that are cognitively inferred (‘implicatures’) interact through parallel processing (‘mutual adjustment)’ to produce an interpretation about the meaning of a speaker’s intention.  RT Read More …

M&R Chapter 1–Introduction: Pragmatics

Posted onAuthorBrian Larson7 Comments

This is my colleague Chris Cocchiarella’s summary of the first chapter of Wilson and Sperber’s (2012) Meaning and Relevance. We previously posted a summary of the book’s preface and an intro to some of the terms and concepts of Relevance Theory. I also posted a claim that Relevance Theory matters to rhetoric and TC. This summary has two parts: part I explains the basics of Relevance Theory (RT for short); part II teases out some implications of RT (especially for professionals in rhetoric and technical communication) and then concludes the summary. I. Basics of RT While Sperber and Wilson define Read More …

Is Relevance Theory relevant to rhetoric?

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Chris Cocchiarella and I are working on a book review of Meaning and Relevance (M&R), the 2012 collection of scholarly essays in linguistic pragmatics by Deirdre Wilson and Dan Sperber, who present relevance theory (RT), a cognitive, as opposed to merely linguistic, theory of communication.  By a ‘cognitive’ theory, they mean not only the process of decoding meaning, which would be a purely ‘linguistic’ theory, but also the parallel process of inferential comprehension, which involves constructing conceptual representations of meaning based on adjusting linguistic codes to a cognitive environment.  Wilson and Sperber’s most complete treatment of the subject prior to Read More …

Open letter to Mr. Pethoud

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Ron Pethoud was my 6th grade teacher at Westridge Elementary in Harlan, Iowa, in 1978-79. Along with a few other teachers before and after, he played an important role in my life. I know he has been struggling with health problems the last couple years. His daughter Ronna asked friends and former students to give him a “card shower” on Facebook. I sent him a paper card, but I wanted to say more than would fit in it. Since “Penmanship” was my worst grade when he was my teacher, I thought it would better to type it. And then I Read More …

Doing Rhetoric at the U 2013: Cognitive-pragmatic rhetoric and rhetorical genre: Useful references

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The references below are intended to be useful for attendees of today’s Doing Rhetoric conference at the University of Minnesota. I’ve provided very rudimentary annotations. Bawarshi, A. S., & Reiff, M. J. (2010). Genre: An Introduction to History, Theory, Research, and Pedagogy. Parlor Press. Useful overview of contemporary genre theory. Bazerman, C. (1988). Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the Experimental Article in Science. University of Wisconsin Press. Landmark study exploring genres changing over time (among other things). Berkenkotter, C., & Huckin, T. N. (1994). Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication: Cognition/culture/power. Routledge. Landmark study in genre theory. Bitzer, Read More …

Cognitive genre theory IV: More thoughts on new theory & conclusion

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This is the fourth post in a series exploring a possible cognitive theory of genre. The first, appearing here, covered some basic concepts from contemporary cognitive science. The second focused on prototype theory, script theory, and relevance theory. The third began to lay out some of the issues in genre theory where attention from a cognitive perspective would be beneficial. You’ll find this post easier if you read the previous ones. This post takes up where the last left off. It considers a place for relevance theory, argues that genre tokens function as non-hierarchical semiosis, and considers the role cognitive Read More …

Cognitive genre theory III: First steps toward new theory

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(Updated 4/3/13 with correction regarding Schank and Abelson story about Dr. Schank’s daughter.) This is the third post in a series exploring a possible cognitive theory of genre. The first, appearing here, covered some basic concepts from contemporary cognitive science. The second focused on prototype theory, script theory, and relevance theory. You’ll find this post easier if you read the previous ones. I should note at the outset that what I propose here as a “cognitive theory of genre” is not fully theorized or set into the context of all the genre-related research that has preceded it. (That’s a euphemistic Read More …

Cognitive genre theory II: Likenesses, scripts, and relevance

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This is the second post in a series exploring a possible cognitive theory of genre. The first, appearing here, covered some concepts from contemporary cognitive science. You’ll find this post easier if you read the previous one. Not all the developments in cognitive science that are relevant to a cognitive theory of genre post-date the “social turn” in genre theory signaled by Miller (1984). In fact, two important earlier developments have been cited in the genre literature, albeit in ways that suggest they are misunderstood or misapplied or were not attended to in a fashion that exploits their utility for Read More …

Cognitive genre theory I: Intro & writing as situated problem-solving

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I’ve been posting the answers I’ve given to the written prelim exams for my PhD. (My specialty exam answer appears here.) Note that I have not provided the examiners’ questions. That’s because it’s considered impolite to share an examiner’s question without his/her permission. Anyway, here is my answer to the rhetoric question I received. Please be charitable if you are reading these posts. I’m only lightly editing them as I cut them from the exam I wrote in a hurried 24 hours. This series of posts explores the possibility of a cognitive theory of genre. It does so tentatively and Read More …