Rhetorical Reading

1. Think back to the last time someone gave you some instruction in how to read. When was it?What were you taught? What differences are there between what you were taught and what Haas and Flow say is important to teach about reading?

The last time that someone gave me instruction on how to read was probably in high school. I was taught to not "breeze through" the content but to actually read to understand the content and find a deeper meaning in what the author was saying. There are a few differences in how I was taught to read and what Haas and Flow say is important to teach about reading. Haas and Flow say that it is important to teach students to read rhetorically or in other words, to form rhetorical context to make sense of a reading. I on the other hand was taught to focus the themes of the writing and only paid brief attention to the reasons the writings occurred.


2. Can you identify instances in the past where you've been a rhetorical reader? If so, what were you reading? How was it similar to and different form your usual practice?

In high school, a text I was required to read was "Lord of the Flies". I realized through my english class and the text that it was important to not take the book at surface value and to look at the context of the book in order to understand the various symbols and themes that appeared. This was my first look at "rhetorical reading" and it was very different from my typical reading styles.

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3. Reflect on your own reading strategies. How do you approach a text? How does your approach vary depending on the type of text, your purpose in reading it, or other factors? Would you consider yourself an experienced reader?

I usually approach readings with the goal of enjoyment or to gain knowledge.  However, my approach does vary at times if given specific instructions before reading a text from a professor. For example, if told to look for specific content within a writing I will have an analytical approach to my readings. I would consider myself an avid reader because I like to read and read often, but I would not consider myself an experienced reader because I do not always read rhetorically.


3. What might it mean to read the Bible rhetorically? If applicable, when have you used rhetorical reading strategies when spending time with Scriptures? How have these reading strategies affected your faith, for better or for worse?

I imagine that reading the Bible rhetorically is consciously reading the scripture. Since many scriptures such as Psalms or Proverbs have texts that mean more than what they appear to be, reading rhetorically would determining what the texts mean according to their context. I have read some chapters in the Bible that require me to think rhetorically about the message that the verses are trying to convey. Sometimes trying to understand these verses without context can be confusing, but in other cases, reading the Bible rhetorically can improve my understanding of God.



4. Name one concept from this lesson that you most struggled to understand. What about this concept, term, or idea is troublesome? What do you currently think it means, whether you feel certain or not?

One concept from this lesson that I originally struggled to understand was actually "rhetorical context" and how it helped with rhetorical reading. I now think that rhetorical context refers to understanding the circumstances that a writer had when writing. This means that an author from the 1600s' writings have different symbols and meanings than a writer in the twenty-first century because they live in different eras and have different exigences and overall influencers.