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Publication Date
2023
Document Type
Poster
Degree Type
Undergraduate
Department
Philosophy
Mentor
Daniel Breyer
Mentor Department
Philosophy
Abstract
Rhetoric is often examined as presence and words, as the art of speaking tends to. That focus often minimizes the role that silence and absence can play in rhetoric. Silence and physical absence have grown as tools of rhetoric, allowing for movements to gain ground in the political sphere or hold space for new voices at the table in seminars. These tools tend to be most purposefully wielded by those on the margins, as those in power inadvertently pushed them into their hands. This rhetoric has grown to be more powerful and better documented with time, but it often is used by those on the margins and is not recognized for the act that it is. This study explores how silence and absence came to this state and works to understand better how they function when held in light of Aristotle’s model of rhetoric.
Recommended Citation
O'Dowd, Sara, "Ethos of Absence" (2023). University Research Symposium. 467.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/rsp_urs/467